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Principles 

OF 

Salesmanship 

A  TEXTBOOK  FOR  COLLEGES  AND  SCHOOLS 


By 

HAROLD  WHITEHEAD 

Head  of  the  Department  of  Business  Method  and  .Sales  Relations, 
College  of  Business  Administration,  Boston  University;  Author  of 
“The  Rexall  Course  in  Salesmanship”;  Co-author  of  the  Business 
Training  Course  of  the  J.  C.  Penney  Company;  Etc. 


B°STON  COf.f rE  SCHnn, 
busing  ,  .:.SCH°oi 


5  *0*1*. 


THIRD  EDITION 


THE  RONALD  PRESS  COMPANY 


NEW  YORK 


HFr^S  / 
.w si-  * 

/^23 

Copyright,  1917,  by 
The  Ronald  Press  Company 


Copyright,  1923,  by 
The  Ronald  Press  Company 

All  Rights  Reserved 

6 


183187 


To  My  Father 


. 


n — ^ 


. 


PREFACE 


The  first  edition  of  this  work  appeared  in  1917.  In  this 
edition  there  has  been  a  complete  revision,  hardly  a  section 
remaining  in  the  same  form  as  before.  The  basic  structure 
and  arrangement  of  the  volume  have  been  maintained.  The 
changes  have  been  in  the  way  of  development,  enlargement, 
and  improvement,  largely  as  a  result  of  the  suggestions  and 
contributions  of  literally  hundreds  of  instructors  in  salesman¬ 
ship  and  of  sales  executives  in  a  variety  of  lines  throughout 
the  country. 

Perhaps  the  best  statement  of  the  purpose  of  the  work  may 
be  made  by  repeating  here  some  points  of  the  preface  to  the 
original  edition. 

Men  vary  greatly  in  their  ability  to  sell  goods.  Some  are 
successful  because  of  an  inborn  aptitude  for  selling;  others 
succeed  through  study  and  practice  in  the  business  world. 
Whatever  a  man’s  natural  ability  may  be,  it  can  be  developed 
and  made  much  more  effective  by  the  systematic  study  and 
application  of  the  principles  of  salesmanship. 

This  statement  is  borne  out  by  the  experience  of  many 
large  concerns  which  have  solved  the  difficult  problem  of  mar¬ 
keting  an  expensive  specialty  on  an  international  scale.  Such 
firms  could  not  possibly  sell  their  goods  through  the  length  and 
breadth  of  the  civilized  world  if  their  sales  depended  solely 
upon  the  efforts  of  men  who  are  naturally  salesmen.  They 
have  been  compelled  to  take  the  average  man  as  they  find  him, 
train  him  in  the  methods  of  the  experienced  salesman,  and  then 
try  him  out.  Experience  proves  that  whatever  natural  ability 
a  man  may  possess,  his  value  as  a  sales  producer  will  be  incom- 


VI 


PREFACE 


parably  greater  if  he  is  trained  to  use  his  analytical  and  reason¬ 
ing  faculties  as  well  as  the  natural  intuition  of  the  born 
salesman. 

The  object  of  this  book  is  to  present  an  analysis  of  sales¬ 
manship  in  a  series  of  lessons,  each  of  which  deals  with  a  dis¬ 
tinct  phase  of  the  subject.  The  author  trusts  that  the  experi¬ 
enced,  successful  salesman  who  works  largely  by  intuition  will 
read  the  book  with  interest  and  also  with  profit;  that  the 
younger  salesman  who  analyzes  his  failures  and  is  always 
striving  to  do  better  will  find  suggestions  that  he  can  profitably 
utilize ;  and  that  the  novice  who  assimilates  and  puts  into  prac¬ 
tice  the  suggestions  given  in  these  pages  may  thereby  save  him¬ 
self  many  disappointments  and  set-backs  in  his  chosen  calling. 

It  so  happens  that  the  author  combines  a  varied  experience 
as  a  salesman  with  a  practical  knowledge  of  the  difficulty  of 
teaching  salesmanship.  While  closely  allied  with  the  personal 
equation,  salesmanship  is  also  dependent  upon  the  variables  of 
time,  circumstance,  and  the  mood  of  the  buyer.  The  author 
feels  keenly  that  the  kind  of  textbook  needed  is  one  which  re¬ 
duces  this  complexity  of  time,  mood,  knack,  and  personality  to 
a  practical  course  of  study  which  will  prove  its  worth  in  the 
school  of  experience. 

The  aim  of  this  book,  therefore,  is  to  make  the  study  of 
salesmanship  as  practical,  interesting,  and  definite  as  possible. 

To  that  end  definite  means  are  suggested  for  the  attainment  of 
definite  ends.  The  theory  of  the  subject  is  advanced  with 
careful  consideration  of  its  practical  application.  “Practice, 
practice — and  yet  more  practice,”  may  be  the  formula  for  suc¬ 
cess  in  any  art,  and  the  art  of  salesmanship  is  no  exception  to 
this  rule.  But  the  more  this  practice  is  intelligently  directed 
by  theory  which  appeals  to  reason  and  to  common  sense,  the 
more  rapidly  will  the  desired  goal  of  success  be  attained. 

The  problems  in  Appendix  A,  devised  for  the  purpose  of 
developing  original  and  effective  thinking,  are  the  outgrowth 


PREFACE 


Vll 


of  many  years’  experience  in  presenting  the  subject  both  in 
classroom  and  before  business  organizations.  They  demand 
ingenuity  as  well  as  understanding;  merely  reading  the  text 
will  by  no  means  suffice,  for  in  order  to  develop  the  skill  and 
personal  dexterity  that  the  salesman  requires,  the  student  must 
not  only  know  what  tools  to  use  but  must  also  practice  con¬ 
stantly  in  using  them.  Mention  should  also  be  made  of  the 
many  books  on  salesmanship  and  related  subjects  in  the  lists 
of  collateral  reading  in  Appendix  B.  The  reader  is  urged  to 
make  extensive  use  of  this  collateral  material  in  order  to  gain 
as  broad  an  understanding  as  possible  of  the  manifold  applica¬ 
tions  of  the  principles  of  salesmanship. 

The  author  takes  this  public  opportunity  to  express  his 
gratitude  to  the  many  friends  whose  constructive  criticism  has 
aided  in  the  work  of  revision.  For  assistance  of  a  more  inti¬ 
mate  nature  throughout  the  book  special  thanks  are  owing  to 
Professor  J.  C.  Scammell  of  the  Department  of  English  and 
Professor  O.  T.  Smith  of  the  Department  of  Sales  Relations, 
colleagues  of  the  author  on  the  Faculty  of  the  College  of  Busi¬ 
ness  Administration  of  Boston  University.  Mr.  Scammell  has 
been  of  especial  help  in  the  chapters  on  “Straight  Thinking” 
and  “Effective  Diction.” 

Harold  Whitehead 

Boston,  Massachusetts, 

April  2,  1923. 


CONTENTS 


Chapter  Page 

I  The  Study  and  Practice  of  the  Art  of  Sales¬ 
manship  .  i 

II  The  Motives  Behind  All  Buying .  n 

III  The  Customer's  Mental  Journey . .  .  30 

IV  Attitudes  of  Buyer  and  Salesman .  36 

V  The  Preparation  of  the  Selling  Talk  ....  44 

VI  The  Generalship  of  the  Preapproach  ....  55 

VII  Winning  the  Interview .  63 

VIII  Opening  the  Interview .  75 

IX  Methods  of  Arousing  Interest .  87 

X  Interesting  the  Retail  Customer . 106 

XI  Methods  of  Creating  Desire . 118 

XII  Straight  Thinking . 139 

XIII  Effective  Diction . 157 

XIV  Objections  and  How  to  Answer  Them  ....  167 

XV  Excuses  and  How  to  Meet  Them . 180 

XVI  The  Diplomacy  of  the  Close . 190 

XVII  Things  to  Remember  When  Closing . 200 

XVIII  Friendly  Relations  with  the  Buyer . 209 

XIX  The  Retail  Satisfaction  that  Creates  Good- 

Will  . 218 

XX  The  Salesman  and  the  Sales  Manager.  .  .  .  230 

XXI  The  Knowledge  that  Gives  Breadth . 245 

XXII  Types  of  Customers . 257 

XXIII  Characteristic  Retail  Types . 268 

XXIV  The  Make-Up  of  Personality . 277 

XXV  The  Leaven  of  Enthusiasm . 282 

XXVI  The  Habit  of  Industry . 290 

XXVII  The  Courtesy  that  Attracts  and  Pleases.  .  .  298 

XXVIII  The  Fire  of  Courage . 312 

XXIX  The  Lubricant  of  Tact . 325 

Appendix  A — Questions  and  Problems . 333 

Appendix  B — Supplementary  Reading  List .  358 


IX 


Principles  of  Salesmanship 


CHAPTER  I 

THE  STUDY  AND  PRACTICE  OF  THE  ART  OF 

SALESMANSHIP 

Selling  Success  Means  Business  Success. — All-round 
business  ability  can  be  developed  in  no  better  way  than  by 
closely  studying  and  practicing  salesmanship.  Even  if  the  sale 
of  an  article  entails  little  more  than  mere  order-taking  or 
peddling,  that  experience  will  be  a  valuable  one :  for  at  the 
very  least  you  acquire  increased  understanding  of  the  points 
of  view,  prejudices,  and  personal  biases  of  all  sorts  of  people 
and  you  consequently  become  more  accomplished  and  more 
confident  in  dealing  with  strangers  on  a  business  basis.  This 
knowledge  of  human  nature  in  relation  to  buying  and  selling 
is  the  foundation  of  business  acumen.  If  you  want  to  learn 
your  weaknesses  and  eradicate  them,  if  you  wish  to  find  out 
your  crudities  and  tone  them  down,  and  if  you  mean  to 
develop  the  best  that  is  in  you,  select  a  high-grade  commodity 
that  demands  real  selling  ability  and  then  persist  until  you 
make  a  success  of  selling.  The  man  who  trains  and  develops 
himself  in  this  way  will  be  trained  for  success  in  most  of  the 
walks  of  life. 

This  is  a  sweeping  statement.  “The  writer  seems  to  claim 
rather  too  much  for  salesmanship,”  you  remark.  Let  us 
analyze  the  proposition. 

i 


2 


PRINCIPLES  OF  SALESMANSHIP 


» 

The  Value  of  the  Salesman’s  All-Round  Training _ Con¬ 

sider  the  qualifications  that  are  required  for  success  in  sales¬ 
manship.  Perhaps  a  score  might  be  listed,  but  we  will  mention 
only  the  most  prominent. 

1.  First  of  all  a  salesman  must  acquire  accurate  and  ex¬ 
haustive  knowledge  of  his  line.  No  salesman  can  know  too 
much  about  what  he  sells.  Whether  selling  a  highly  complex 
and  specialized  product,  such  as  a  piece  of  machinery,  or  a 
large  and  varied  line,  such  as  one  of  the  staples,  or  some  kind 
of  raw  material,  he  must  study  his  goods  and  their  uses  until 
he  has  the  knowledge  of  the  expert.  The  man  who  in  addition 
to  being  an  expert  in  any  line  is  also  a  real  salesman  has  that 
all-round  business  ability  allied  with  knowledge  of  human 
nature  which  are  needed  in  every  important  executive  position. 

2.  He  must  be  able  to  impart  his  knowledge  to  others 
logically  and  quickly.  To  do  this  he  must  have  the  ability  to 
concentrate  all  his  powers  and  faculties  of  thought  and  speech 
upon  a  given  subject.  The  man  who  finds  it  hard  to  talk  to 
the  point  will  have  difficulty  in  arresting  and  holding  the 
attention  of  others. 

3.  He  must  possess  tact  in  a  high  degree.  The  nature  of 
his  calling  demands  that  at  times  he  be  aggressive  or  insistent 
or  pertinacious.  When  in  the  presence  of  an  irritable  buyer  or 
a  buyer  whose  will  is  accustomed  to  dominate,  only  consum¬ 
mate  tact  will  prevent  a  clash. 

4.  He  must  have  the  courage  to  press  his  offer  upon  the 
attention  of  those  who  are  indifferent  or  even  antagonistic. 
By  his  tact,  his  skill  in  argument,  and  his  determination,  he 
must  change  their  attitude  of  mind. 

5.  He  must  be  endowed  with  sufficient  imagination  to  be 
able  to  put  himself  in  the  other  man’s  place  and  picture  the 
offer  from  the  customer’s  point  of  view.  Learning  to  meet  all 
classes  of  business  men  on  a  level  of  equality  and  broad  human 
sympathy  is  a  large  part  of  a  salesman’s  training.  Without 


STUDY  AND  PRACTICE  OF  SALESMANSHIP 


3 


\ 


imagination  as  well  as  tact  and  courage  he  cannot  create  that 
unconscious  feeling  of  sympathy  which  is  essential  for  success 
in  a  competitive  field,  where  the  personality  of  the  salesman 
often  plays  an  important  part. 

6.  He  must  be  industrious  and  must  discipline  himself  in 
the  habit  of  industry  when  all  the  odds  are  against  him.  He 
works  alone.  He  lacks  the  incentive  of  the  time  clock  in  office 
or  factory  to  keep  him  steadily  at  the  daily  grind.  Unless  he 
acquires  the  self-control  and  the  will  power  needed  to  force 
himself  to  stick  to  that  grind  when  work  runs  against  the  grain, 
he  will  never  go  far  as  a  salesman. 

Universal  Need  of  Salesmanship  Qualifications. — All  suc¬ 
cessful  enterprises  involve  salesmanship  in  one  form  or  another. 

When  a  young  man  applies  for  his  first  position  he  is  a 
salesman.  He  tries  to  sell  in  the  best  market  his  personality 
plus  the  knowledge  and  training  he  has  acquired.  When  the 
young  doctor,  lawyer,  preacher,  or  journalist  starts  his  pro¬ 
fessional  career  he  begins  as  a  salesman  selling  his  own  services. 
The  future  retail  or  wholesale  merchant  has  first  to  prove 
himself  in  the  ranks  of  salesmanship.  The  manufacturer  who 
fails  to  solve  the  problem  of  distribution  and  selling  his  goods 
(a  problem  which  sometimes  is  more  difficult  in  its  solution 
than  that  of  production)  fails  in  his  enterprise.  Throughout 
life  everyone  who  at  any  time  succeeds  in  getting  others  to  do 
his  will  may  be  said  to  have  “sold”  them  his  idea.  Certainly 
teachers,  ministers,  lawyers,  besides  business  men  in  every 
field,  are  constantly  inducing  others  to  co-operate  with  them. 
In  principle  they  are  salesmen. 

Other  things  being  equal,  success  in  all  these  different  walks 
of  life  depends  primarily  upon  salesmanship.  You  may  be  an 
expert  in  your  line,  you  may  have  a  special  fund  of  knowledge, 
you  may  be  of  exceptional  intellectual  ability;  but  if  you  lack 
any  of  the  essential  qualifications  of  salesmanship  you  are 


4 


PRINCIPLES  OF  SALESMANSHIP 


handicapped.  Your  success  in  any  career  will  be  likely  to  be 
mediocre,  for  you  will  fail  to  secure  backing  or  understanding 
or  interest. 

Salesmanship  in  History  and  Literature _ In  the  broader 

sense  of  the  term,  the  special  power  and  skill  of  the  salesman 
is  just  the  power  and  skill  that  has  changed  the  course  of  his¬ 
tory;  again  and  again  through  the  ages  some  leader  has  won 
the  confidence  and  support  of  his  community,  of  his  nation, 
even  of  the  world.  Caesar,  Columbus,  Napoleon  all  “sold” 
their  ideas  just  as  surely  as  a  salesman  sells  goods.  Caesar’s 
“Commentaries  on  the  Gallic  War”  were  written  as  publicity 
and  propaganda  to  win  political  support  for  him  at  Rome. 
Through  advertising  his  conquests  in  Gaul  he  secured  increas¬ 
ing  interest  and  support  and  became  at  last,  in  fact  if  not  in 
name,  emperor  of  the  world.  Had  he  but  shown  the  honor 
and  nobility  of  character  that  Lincoln  did,  the  world  might 
well  have  been  a  far  better  place  today.  So,  too,  with  Napo¬ 
leon  ;  his  ruthlessness  and  vanity  brought  destruction  upon  the 
splendor  and  true  majesty  that  he  had  won  through  construc¬ 
tive  planning  and  insight  of  exactly  the  same  type  as  that  which 
the  salesman  must  possess.  The  lesson  has  not  passed  un¬ 
heeded  in  business  today;  the  unscrupulous  and  dishonorable 
“grab-it-all,  anything-goes”  policy  has  been  discarded.  The 
standards  of  Columbus  and  of  St.  Louis  the  Crusader,  both 
of  them  supreme  salesmen  of  great  ideas,  have  been  established 
more  firmly  than  ever.  Columbus,  sure  of  the  merits  of  his 
cause,  refused  to  be  daunted  or  discouraged,  but  persisted  in 
trying  ruler  after  ruler  again  and  yet  again  until  he  had  secured 
the  needed  funds;  St.  Louis,  despite  the  thousand  and  one 
difficulties  and  heartbreaking  failures  facing  him,  rallied  the 
nations  to  the  cause  of  the  restoration  of  the  Holy  Land 
to  Christendom.  Their  fineness  of  motive  and  glow  of  en¬ 
thusiasm  and  courage  as  well  as  their  methods  of  attaining 


STUDY  AND  PRACTICE  OF  SALESMANSHIP 


5 

support  and  confidence  are  typical  of  the  true  salesman  of 
modern  times. 

In  literature  again  we  find  the  principles  of  salesmanship 
frequently  exemplified.  “Black  Beauty”  sold  the  doctrine  of 
treating  animals  kindly  to  England  and  America  and  to  thou¬ 
sands  upon  thousands  in  other  nations  all  over  the  world. 
Elbert  Hubbard’s  “Message  to  Garcia”  has  been  translated 
into  a  score  or  more  of  languages  and  used  by  half  a  dozen 
great  nations  to  drive  home  the  value  of  prompt  and  well- 
planned  action  and  of  persisting  in  the  face  of  opposition  and 
discouragement.  “Pickwick  Papers”  demonstrated  the  absurd¬ 
ity  of  imprisonment  for  debt,  “Uncle  Tom’s  Cabin”  is  the 
most  effective  argument  against  slavery  that  has  ever  appeared, 
Hans  Anderson’s  “Ugly  Duckling”  is  an  immortal  message  of 
the  hope  that  every  one  of  us  is  entitled  to.  All  these  and  a 
myriad  more  books  have  won  their  readers  to  believe  and  act 
in  accordance  with  the  ideas  they  set  forth;  they  have  sold 
their  wares  in  a  million  homes. 

What  the  Salesman  Needs. — Salesmanship  is  a  mental 
process.  You  cannot  use  force  upon  a  buyer.  You  can  neither 
hypnotize  him  nor  coax  him  to  buy  against  his  will.  Convic¬ 
tion  of  the  advantage  of  an  offer  is  the  basis  of  every  sale. 
Only  after  this  conviction  is  established,  first  in  the  mind  of 
the  salesman  and  second  in  the  mind  of  the  buyer,  will  an 
agreement  be  reached  or  an  order  secured.  To  convince  your¬ 
self  you  must  have  a  thorough  knowledge  of  your  goods  and 
the  technical  facts  of  the  business,  supported  by  confidence  in 
the  value  of  your  offer,  whether  this  relates  to  goods  or  to 
service. 

To  carry  conviction  to  the  mind  of  the  buyer  you  must  be 
equipped  with  arguments  in  favor  of  the  offer  and  with 
arguments  for  profiting  from  the  offer  now,  and  these  argu¬ 
ments  must  be  sufficiently  varied  to  appeal  to  every  type  of 


6 


PRINCIPLES  OF  SALESMANSHIP 


mind.  You  also  must  have  at  your  command  an  apt  answer 
to  numberless  objections,  any  of  which  may  be  advanced  as  a 
reason  for  not  buying,  even  though  remotely  or  not  at  all  con¬ 
nected  with  the  offering. 

Finally,  to  carry  this  conviction  to  the  buyer’s  mind  with 
the  least  effort  and  the  maximum  success  in  the  largest  possible 
number  of  cases,  you  must  have  personality.  This  is  an  all- 
inclusive  term  which  comprises  manner,  appearance,  address, 
tact,  argumentative  skill,  and  the  force  and  strength  of  your 
character  as  a  whole.  Your  personality  must  be  such  that  it 
dominates  where  leadership  is  needed  or  tranquilizes  where 
irritation  and  prejudice  are  present  or  stimulates  where  hesita¬ 
tion  and  procrastination  are  revealed.  Your  manner  and 
method  as  a  capable  salesman  must  be  such  as  insensibly 
attract  almost  every  type  of  buyer  and  in  no  case  irritate  or 
offend. 

Thus,  in  order  to  make  the  most  of  yourself  as  a  salesman 
you  must  first  of  all  analyze  your  goods,  your  buyers,  and 
vourself. 

Why  Salesmanship  Is  Necessary. — Salesmanship  may  be 
defined  as  the  art  of  presenting  the  advantages  of  an  offer  in 
a  way  which  first  arouses  the  desire  to  profit  by  it  and  then 
leads  to  prompt  action. 

If  all  goods  were  standardized  and  if  they  were  made  only 
in  quantity  to  fill  an  existing  demand,  there  would  be  little  or 
no  need  for  salesmanship.  But  commodities  are  frequently 
produced  in  greater  quantity  than  is  needed  to  fill  the  existing 
demand.  Moreover  they  vary  in  price  and  utility.  It  becomes 
necessary  to  explain  the  reasons  for  these  variations  or  to  make 
clear  the  utility  of  a  new  product.  In  this  way  the  existing 
demand  is  filled  by  the  goods  best  fitted  for  the  purpose  or  else 
a  demand  is  created  for  new  goods. 

When  typewriters  were  first  introduced  the  customer  had 


STUDY  AND  PRACTICE  OF  SALESMANSHIP 


7 


to  be  shown  the  many  advantages  of  using  such  a  machine, 
He  had  to  be  taught  how  they  save  time,  energy,  and  money, 
This  aroused  the  desire  to  profit  from  their  use  and  so  a 
demand  for  typewriters  was  created.  When  naphtha  soap  was 
first  sold  the  housewife  had  to  be  taught  that  the  soap  would 
wash  clothes  in  cold  water  with  very  little  rubbing.  The  utility 
of  the  new  product  had  to  be  shown  and  proved.  The  same 
is  true  of  every  article  termed  a  “specialty”,  with  a  name  and 
an  identity  of  its  own,  as  distinguished  from  an  article  termed 
a  “staple”,  the  identity  of  which  is  lost  in  the  bulk.  If  a  new 
product  suitable,  say,  for  resoling  shoes,  were  placed  on  the 
market,  it  would  be  given  a  special  name,  salesmanship  would 
be  called  in  to  make  clear  the  advantages  of  this  specialty  over 
leather,  and  thus  a  demand  would  be  created. 

The  Function  of  the  Salesman. — To  fill  an  existing 
demand  with  the  best  goods  produced  for  the  purpose  or  to 
create  a  new  demand  for  new  products  is  the  function  of  the 
salesman. 

The  salesman  is  a  commercial  messenger  who  acts  as  a 
link  between  various  organizations  concerned  in  the  distribu¬ 
tion  of  goods.  As  the  representative  of  the  manufacturer  he 
may  visit  the  wholesaler.  As  the  representative  of  the  whole¬ 
saler  he  may  visit  the  retailer.  Or  as  a  retailer  himself  he  may 
carry  on  his  duties  behind  the  counter  of  a  store.  Wherever 
employed  his  function  is  to  serve  as  a  medium  of  communica¬ 
tion  between  the  producer,  dealer,  and  consumer. 

A  Scientific  Method  of  Studying  Salesmanship. — The 

study  of  salesmanship  has  often  been  presented  under  three 
heads — the  goods,  the  customer,  and  the  salesman  himself. 
This  arrangement  has  heretofore  been  adhered  to  in  nearly 
every  work  on  salesmanship  that  aims  to  be  more  than  a  col¬ 
lection  of  homilies  on  the  subject.  An  analysis  of  some  kind 


8 


PRINCIPLES  OF  SALESMANSHIP 


is  needed  in  order  to  reduce  a  subject  complicated  with  so  many 
variables  into  a  practical  course  of  instruction.  And  this  triple 
classification  seems  at  first  view  a  good  working  arrangement. 

In  practice,  however,  this  method  of  treating  the  subject 
presents  serious  difficulties.  For  one  thing  it  is  impossible 
arbitrarily  to  differentiate  the  study  of  the  goods  and  the  con¬ 
struction  of  the  sales  talk  from  the  type  of  customer  to  whom 
the  goods  will  be  sold,  since  the  appeal  will  depend  as  much 
upon  the  buyer’s  motive  for  making  the  purchase  as  upon  the 
description  of  the  goods  themselves.  In  some  forms  of  sales¬ 
manship  a  description  of  the  goods  and  their  merits  is  of  com¬ 
paratively  small  importance  as  compared  with  the  ability  to 
depict  the  advantages  of  an  offer  when  viewed  from  other 
standpoints. 

Then  again  the  development  of  your  personality  cannot 
be  considered  as  a  thing  apart  from  the  every-day  work  of  sell¬ 
ing.  It  is  of  little  use  to  suggest  to  you  that  you  should  culti¬ 
vate  certain  essential  qualities,  such  as  courage,  tact,  pertinacity, 
courtesy,  and  what-not,  unless  a  course  of  instruction  can  be 
mapped  out  which  will  dovetail  into  your  daily  work  and  will 
help  you  to  acquire  any  essential  trait  in  which  you  may  feel 
yourself  to  be  deficient. 

A  Practical  Course  of  Study  Which  Brings  Results. — 

The  procedure  adopted  in  this  work  follows  the  actual  course 
that  must  be  pursued  in  the  practice  of  selling,  i.e.,  the  pre¬ 
paration  that  precedes  the  actual  interview,  the  study  of  points 
that  make  for  increasing  comprehension  of  the  subtleties  re¬ 
quisite  in  thoroughly  workmanlike  salesmanship,  and  finally,  a 
consideration  of  the  means  by  which  the  last  refinements  of 
personal  development  can  be  achieved. 

The  first  of  these  four  sections  (Chapters  I  to  VI)  presents 
the  general  and  specific  problems  that  the  salesman  must 
understand  before  attempting  an  interview.  This  involves 


STUDY  AND  PRACTICE  OF  SALESMANSHIP 


9 


the  basic  principles  on  which  all  selling  is  founded  and  also 
the  particular  measures  to  be  adopted  in  preparing  for  an 
interview.  The  student  is  carried  to  the  point  of  locating  his 
prospective  customer. 

The  second  section  (Chapters  VII  to  XVII)  comprises 
the  material  both  general  and  specific,  that  explains  the  methods 
of  conducting  a  sales  interview  from  the  moment  the  salesman 
greets  the  customer  to  the  parting  words  after  the  salesman 
has  taken  the  order.  The  methods  of  precise  and  logical  think¬ 
ing  and  of  direct  and  impressive  speaking,  of  meeting  and 
handling  objections  and  excuses,  as  well  as  the  successive  steps 
to  be  taken  in  the  course  of  each  portion  of  the  sales  discussion, 
are  each  of  them  presented  here. 

The  third  section  (Chapters  XVIII  to  XXIII)  deals  with 
certain  larger  aspects  of  salesmanship  that  have  already  ap¬ 
peared  in  the  preceding  sections  from  time  to  time  and  now 
must  receive  independent  and  full  consideration  by  themselves. 
Apart  from  the  orderly  progress  of  a  sale,  which  has  been  the 
main  subject  of  consideration  so  far,  the  student  must  gain 
understanding  of  the  broad  social  problems  involved  in  sales¬ 
manship,  the  means  of  establishing  businesslike  and  friendly 
relations  both  with  customers  and  with  the  various  depart¬ 
ments  of  his  own  firm,  the  leading  types  of  customers  that  he 
encounters,  and  the  functions  and  the  characteristics  of  the 
sales  department. 

The  fourth  section  (Chapters  XXIV  to  XXIX  discusses 
the  qualities  that  the  salesman  must  develop  in  order  to  achieve 
success.  Until  the  nature  of  the  salesman’s  work  is  clearly 
comprehended  and  its  demand  understood,  the  student  can 
hardly  appreciate  the  full  value  of  self-development  along 
certain  very  definite  lines.  Consequently,  it  is  in  this  last 
section  of  all  that  these  supreme  essentials  are  treated  in  detail ; 
from  the  very  first  chapter  their  importance  has  been  more  and 
more  clearly  suggested  both  in  the  rules  laid  down  and  in  the 


10 


PRINCIPLES  OF  SALESMANSHIP 


examples  cited,  but  the  full  explanation  of  their  nature  and  the 
means  by  which  they  can  be  cultivated  are  reserved  for  this 
final  summation  of  the  salesman’s  personality. 

The  Handicap  of  Working  without  Study  and  Train¬ 
ing. — It  is  profitless  to  waste  time  in  considering  whether  sales¬ 
manship  has  yet  attained  the  dignity  of  a  science  or  whether 
you  as  a  salesman  must  be  born  and  not  made.  To  talk  of  the 
science  of  salesmanship  is  as  nonsensical  as  to  talk  of  the 
science  of  acting  or  the  science  of  debating.  The  student  should 
remember  rather  that  salesmanship  is  an  art.  Like  the  forensic 
art  of  the  advocate  at  the  bar  or  the  histrionic  art  of  the  actor 
on  the  stage,  it  demands  careful  preparation  if  the  first  attempts 
are  to  be  anything  but  the  bungling  and  crude  efforts  of  the 
untrained  amateur. 

Some  men  are  born  advocates;  others  are  born  actors.  Yet 
the  fact  remains  that  without  training  neither  can  prosper  in 
his  calling.  Furthermore,  many  a  man  who  lacks  a  natural 
gift  for  pleading  or  for  acting  may  yet  by  careful  training  and 
persistent  effort  develop  no  mean  ability  in  either  direction. 

Exactly  the  same  rule  applies  to  you  as  a  salesman. 

The  advocate  and  the  actor  must  put  the  theoretical  side 
of  their  study  to  practical  test  in  their  respective  callings.  So 
must  the  salesman.  Men  everywhere  have  to  be  developed  in 
the  school  of  experience.  But  the  salesman  who  for  this  reason 
elects  to  learn  only  in  that  hardest  of  all  schools  is  as  ill- 
equipped  for  his  job  as  the  actor  who  braves  a  public  ordeal 
with  a  half-memorized  part  and  without  any  clear  notion  of 
what  he  is  going  to  do  or  say. 


CHAPTER  II 


THE  MOTIVES  BEHIND  ALL  BUYING 

The  Salesman’s  Need  of  Understanding  Human  Nature— 

One  of  the  most  important  requirements  in  salesmanship  is 
the  understanding  of  human  nature.  Every  time  that  the 
salesman  undertakes  to  make  a  sale  of  any  sort  he  is  dealing 
with  a  prospective  customer — a  specimen  of  human  nature — 
hence  a  knowledge  of  how  people  may  be  expected  to  act  under 
given  circumstances  enables  him  not  only  to  anticipate  or  pre¬ 
dict  a  customer’s  reaction  to  a  suggestion  or  an  argument  but 
also  permits  him  to  vary  his  sales  method  in  such  a  way  as  to 
appeal  most  effectively  to  the  individual  with  whom  he  is 
dealing. 

A  salesman  who  had  a  perfect  understanding  of  human 
behavior  would  be  100  per  cent  successful  in  getting  orders, 
for  his  knowledge  would  in  the  first  place  permit  him  to  select 
as  prospective  customers  only  those  to  whom  a  sale  could  be 
made,  and  in  the  second  place,  it  would  also  tell  him  exactly 
which  of  his  many  sales  arguments  and  what  sales  factors  he 
should  use  to  accomplish  his  end  most  directly  and  surely. 

Good  salesmen  understand  human  nature  from  their  own 
experiences ;  they  have  acquired  a  working  knowledge  of  sales 
psychology.  But  many  salesmen  never  give  a  thought  to  the 
motives  lying  back  of  every  purchase,  and  consequently  fail  to 
get  the  results  that  such  knowledge  would  insure.  Young 
salesmen  have  had  too  limited  an  amount  of  experience  to  be 
able  to  generalize  from  the  results  of  their  sales;  without  an 
understanding  of  the  psychological  factors  they  are  gravely 
handicapped.  A  good  salesman  of  firearms,  for  example, 


ii 


12 


PRINCIPLES  OF  SALESMANSHIP 


would  certainly  not  start  a  selling  campaign  in  a  community 
made  up  of  persons  belonging  to  a  religious  sect  definitely 
opposed  to  the  use  of  violence.  He  is  able  to  predict  at  the 
start  what  the  behavior  of  such  individuals  would  be  in  reaction 
to  his  sales  talk.  The  mediocre  or  inexperienced  salesman,  on 
the  other  hand,  would  lack  the  knowledge  necessary  to  predict 
these  reactions.  This  illustration  of  course  represents  the 
simplest  kind  of  a  situation ;  most  sales  require  a  considerable 
amount  of  knowledge  of  human  behavior  if  the  desired  action 
is  to  be  obtained. 

Each  Customer  an  Individual  Problem. — The  task  of  the 
salesman  is  further  complicated  by  the  fact  that  in  general  each 
prospective  customer  presents  an  entirely  new  problem  for 
solution.  In  response  to  any  given  set  of  conditions  of  sale  the 
behavior  of  a  majority  of  the  prospective  customers  may  be 
very  similar,  but  in  minor  respects  the  behavior  will  differ. 
It  is  just  these  slight  differences  in  behavior  which  make  the 
salesman’s  work  both  interesting  and  stimulating.  Unless 
however,  the  salesman  is  so  negligent  as  to  rely  upon  the  hit- 
or-miss  method  of  discovering  these  differences  in  action,  he 
must  formulate  principles  by  which  he  may  scientifically  “size 
up”  his  prospect. 

If  the  crop  of  potatoes  from  a  given  field  were  carefully 
examined  to  determine  the  weight  of  each  individual  potato,  it 
would  be  found  that  the  difference  in  weight  between  the 
smallest  and  the  largest  would  be  very  great:  a  large  number 
would  weigh  fairly  close  to  the  average  weight;  others  would 
come  between  the  weight  of  the  average  and  the  extreme  light 
or  heavy  weights.  The  greater  the  difference  between  the 
average  weight  and  any  other  weight,  the  fewer  will  be  the 
number  of  potatoes  in  that  group.  Just  as  great  differences 
are  to  be  found  in  the  case  of  any  mental  trait  in  human  beings ; 
a  good  salesman  in  dealing  with  a  prospective  customer  would 


MOTIVES  BEHIND  ALL  BUYING 


13 


like  to  estimate  to  what  extent  that  customer  represents  the 
average  man  with  respect  to  any  given  trait  and  also  how  far 
he  diverges  from  that  average.  As  an  illustration,  consider  the 
life  insurance  salesman;  sometimes  he  deals  with  men  who 
have  the  average  amount  of  love  of  family,  more  often  with 
individuals  who  possess  that  trait  in  degrees  greater  or  less 
than  that  average.  If  he  knew  that  the  prospective  customer 
represented  less  than  the  average  amount  of  the  “love  of 
family’’  trait  he  would  recognize  that  he  had  more  resistance 
to  overcome  and  his  whole  selling  scheme  would  have  to  be 
adjusted  to  meet  that  situation.  He  might  even  find  it  desirable 
to  shift  the  weight  of  his  argument  from  the  need  of  securing 
comfort  for  the  prospective  customer’s  family  in  case  of  death 
to  an  argument  based  on  the  desirability  of  insurance  as  a 
plan  of  systematic  saving.  Such  differences  in  individuals  the 
salesman  must  be  constantly  alert  to  detect  as  soon  as  they 
manifest  themselves  during  the  selling  process. 

The  salesman  who  understands  the  normal  behavior  has 
won  half  the  battle,  for  he  knows  what  to  expect  of  the  man 
who  represents  the  average  in  that  trait.  In  selling  through 
the  medium  of  advertising,  the  salesman  must  rely  almost 
wholly  upon  appeals  made  for  the  average  customer,  for  he 
cannot  easily  change  his  line  of  argument  nor  has  he  the 
advantage  of  personal  contact  in  estimating  differences  in  indi¬ 
viduals.  By  the  process  of  selection  the  personal  salesman  is 
often  able  to  discover  a  particular  interest  of  a  prospective 
customer  that  provides  an  opening  for  a  special  argument  or 
suggestion.  He  thus  has  discovered  an  abnormal  interest 
which  represents  a  decided  departure  from  the  average.  These 
differences  in  individuals  are  due  to  many  factors  such  as 
heredity,  race,  sex,  environment,  and  education. 

Group  and  Individual  Buying  Motives — Buying  motives 
are  found  in  one  of  the  other  of  two  classes:  the  first,  social 


14 


PRINCIPLES  OF  SALESMANSHIP 


or  racial,  and  easily  defined ;  the  second,  individual  and  varying 
according  to  circumstances. 

For  example,  all  farmers  are  interested  in  bettering  their 
condition  and  are  receptive  to  the  suggestions  of  a  salesman 
of  agricultural  implements.  Yet  while  the  farmers  as  a  class 
are  interested,  many  individuals  will  refuse  to  buy  for  reasons 
that  concern  them  particularly  and  privately.  Robbins  the 
farmer  is  interested  in  a  new  brand  of  cultivator,  but  he 
refuses  to  have  anything  to  do  with  its  representative,  Pusher, 
because  of  a  dislike  for  him  arising  out  of  previous  unsatis¬ 
factory  transactions. 

The  Complexity  of  Most  Buying  Motives. — The  mo¬ 
tives  for  buying  are  many  and  varied.  Occasionally  a  purchase 
is  made  to  satisfy  some  primary  emotion  or  instinct,  such  as 
fear,  rage,  love,  self-protection,  imitation,  hoarding,  and  the 
like ;  or  again,  pure  reason,  entirely  free  from  significant 
emotional  influence,  may  govern  the  purchase.  Psychologists 
have  found  the  task  of  analyzing  and  classifying  motives  ex¬ 
tremely  difficult;  first  of  all  it  is  by  no  means  certain  where  the 
line  can  surely  be  drawn  between  instincts  and  emotions ;  and  in 
the  second  place  there  is  even  more  difficulty  in  determining 
which  are  the  primary  and  which  the  secondary,  which  the 
simple  and  which  the  complex.  Fortunately  these  delicate  points 
are  of  decidedly  minor  importance  to  the  student  of  salesman¬ 
ship.  For  him  the  questions  are :  “What  motives  shall  I 
encounter?  Which  of  them  are  especially  desirable?  And 
how  are  they  to  be  appealed  to?” 

Accordingly,  we  concern  ourselves  with  this  practical  aspect 
of  the  problem  of  the  working  of  the  human  mind.  Whether 
instinct,  emotion,  or  reason  are  at  work  together  or  separately 
in  any  given  instance  is  not  of  much  interest  to  us.  We  are 
concerned  with  the  impulses  or  motives  themselves  as  they 
appear  in  influencing  a  customer  to  make  a  purchase.  Such 


MOTIVES  BEHIND  ALL  BUYING 


15 


psychological  comments  as  appear  from  time  to  time  hereafter, 
then,  are  not  made  with  rigid  adherence  to  the  terminology  and 
nomenclature  of  the  science  of  psychology  but  rather  as  a 
means  toward  facilitating  the  study  and  comprehension  of  the 
problems  of  actual  sales  conditions. 

The  Immediate  Buying  Motive. — For  example,  if  a  retail 
grocer  buys  a  large  order  of  tea  of  a  well-advertised  brand, 
his  obvious  motive  is  the  desire  for  gain — he  wishes  to  sell  that 
tea  at  a  profit.  But  behind  this  motive  may  be,  and  indeed  are, 
other  reasons  of  which  the  salesman  can  hardly  be  expected  to 
be  aware.  The  grocer  may  be  eager  to  make  a  larger  profit 
than  usual  in  order  to  be  able  to  buy  a  radio  set  for  his  children, 
or  to  take  a  more  extended  vacation,  or  to  offset  a  recent  loss, 
or  to  prevent  a  competitor  from  getting  an  advantage.  And 
any  one  of  these  reasons  is  the  product  of  a  combination  of 
instinctive  and  emotional  tendencies.  For  the  salesman  to 
endeavor  to  analyze  or  trace  a  motive  to  its  diverse  instinctive 
sources  would  be  arduous  and  unnecessary.  He  must  recognize 
and  understand  the  main  motive  for  buying  in  a  case,  must 
likewise  determine  what  other  buying  motives  can  be  put  into 
operation  in  that  particular  case,  and  must  be  able  to  deal 
effectively  with  these  motives.  To  do  so  it  is  well  he  should 
have  a  general  conception  of  the  fundamental  principles  of 
human  behavior  in  the  first  place,  but  it  is  still  more  necessary 
that  he  study  the  special  elements  that  lead  to  buying  and  are 
here  called  “buying  motives.” 

Behind  every  purchase  there  are  two  conflicting  motives : 
an  instinctive  desire  to  possess  the  article  proffered  if  it  gives 
pleasure,  renders  a  profit,  or  serves  some  useful  purpose;  and 
an  instinctive  reluctance  to  make  the  purchase  because  it  in¬ 
volves  drawing  upon  one’s  reservoir  of  power,  symbolized  in 
money.  The  more  limited  this  reservoir  of  power  the  more 
cautious  we  are  in  drawing  upon  it.  If  by  nature  we  are 


i6 


PRINCIPLES  OF  SALESMANSHIP 


extremely  cautious  then  we  “just  hate  spending.”  If  we  have 
the  means  to  spend  and  refuse  to  do  so  we  may  be  described  as 
“stingy”  or  “mean.” 

Money  is  the  token  we  exchange  for  necessities,  comforts, 
luxury,  leisure,  and  the  labor  and  services  of  others.  The  art 
of  the  salesman  is  to  convince  the  buyer  by  means  of  objective 
demonstration  or  reasoned  argument  or  both,  that  the  offer 
returns  full  value  in  comfort,  luxury,  or  utility  for  the  expen¬ 
diture  involved.  He  creates  in  the  mind  of  the  buyer  a  vivid 
mental  picture  of  the  benefits  to  be  derived  from  the  purchase 
in  order  to  overcome  that  instinctive  reluctance  to  draw  on  his 
reservoir  of  power  which  everyone  experiences  when  faced 
with  a  purchase  of  any  moment. 

Thus  the  motive  behind  every  purchase  is  the  satisfaction 
of  one  or  more  instinctive  desires — desires  so  powerful  as  to 
overcome  all  opposing  desires.  A  merchant  buys  goods  for 
resale  to  satisfy  the  money-making  instinct;  an  automobile  is 
bought  because  it  gives  pleasure  by  satisfying  the  instinctive 
desire  for  play  or  luxury  and  comfort,  or  because  it  appeals  to 
the  pride  of  possession,  or  perhaps  because  all  three  instincts 
enter  into  the  transaction. 

The  Salesman’s  Appeal  to  Motive. — The  aim  of  the  sales¬ 
man  is  to  present  not  only  the  advantages  or  attractiveness  of 
his  goods  in  a  convincing  manner  but  to  arouse  in  the  mind 
of  the  buyer  as  many  motives  as  possible  for  making  the  pur¬ 
chase.  When  a  particular  motive  is  more  open  to  appeal  than 
any  other  he  will,  of  course,  lay  increased  stress  upon  that. 

From  the  many  arguments  in  favor  of  his  goods,  which 
shall  the  salesman  select?  If  he  is  selling  an  automobile,  shall 
he  base  his  appeal  on  the  fact  that  the  prospect  will  derive  great 
pleasure  from  motoring?  Or  shall  he  lay  stress  on  the  fact 
that  the  car  is  economical  to  operate  or  that  by  its  use  the 
prospect  will  be  able  to  conserve  his  time?  Again  let  us  assume 


MOTIVES  BEHIND  ALL  BUYING 


17 


that  the  commodity  is  a  suite  of  expensive  mahogany  office 
furniture.  Will  it  be  well  to  emphasize  the  pride  to  be  derived 
from  its  possession,  or  will  it  be  preferable  to  argue  that  the 
elaborate  furniture  will  reflect  the  owner’s  prosperity  and 
sound  business  standing  to  his  customers  and  consequently 
pay  for  itself  in  the  profits  derived  from  prestige?  The  sales¬ 
man  must  consider  these  questions  in  the  preparation  of  his 
sales  argument;  his  analysis  of  the  advantages  of  his  proposi¬ 
tion  from  every  viewpoint  requires  him  to  work  out  the  effec¬ 
tive  treatment  of  every  buying  motive. 

An  Example  of  Appeal  to  Different  Motives _ A  sales¬ 

man  trying  to  sell  an  automobile  to  a  young  married  man 
interested  him  to  the  extent  of  making  an  appointment  for  a 
trial  trip  in  a  car  similar  to  the  one  under  consideration.  Dur¬ 
ing  the  ride  the  customer  asked  several  questions  as  to  the 
reliability  of  the  car,  the  chance  of  its  getting  out  of  order, 
and  the  cost  of  its  upkeep.  The  salesman  based  his  argument 
especially  on  an  appeal  to  caution  by  explaining  in  how  many 
ways  every  component  part  of  the  car  was  tested  before  the 
complete  machine  was  assembled  and  sent  out  on  the  road, 
and  how  easily  and  inexpensively  repairs  and  replacements 
could  be  made  should  these  prove  necessary.  The  prospect 
seemed  to  be  almost  sold. 

A  few  days  later  the  salesman  heard  that  the  young  man 
had  practically  decided  to  buy  a  competing  car.  This  car 
while  fully  equal  to  his  own  in  mechanical  perfection  was 
inferior  to  it  in  the  beauty  of  its  design  and  the  style  of  its 
finish. 

Instead  of  interviewing  the  prospect  at  his  place  of  busi¬ 
ness,  the  salesman  called  upon  him  during  the  evening  at  his 
home  and  interviewed  him  in  the  presence  of  his  wife.  Draw¬ 
ing  her  into  the  conversation  he  appealed  to  her  motive  of  pride 
by  accentuating  the  stylish  appearance  of  his  car  as  compared 


i8 


PRINCIPLES  OF  SALESMANSHIP 


with  that  of  his  competitor.  He  gave  also  the  names  of  two 
recent  purchasers  in  the  town  whose  wives  were  prominent 
figures  in  the  social  life  of  the  community.  His  change  of 
appeal  from  mechanical  perfection  (as  a  means  of  satisfying 
caution,  and  desire  for  knowledge)  to  appearance  (or  a  means 
of  satisfying  the  motive  of  pride)  proved  effective  in  closing 
the  sale. 

The  Instinctive  Basis  of  Every  Sale _ An  article  may 

possess  obvious  advantages  or  points  of  superiority  over  com¬ 
peting  goods ;  but  a  sale  does  not  necessarily  follow  when  these 
are  drawn  to  the  attention  of  the  buyer.  '  A  customer  does  not 
buy  oranges  merely  because  he  knows  they  are  sweeter  than 
lemons.  An  appeal  must  frequently  be  made  to  the  motives 
which  influence  the  buyer  apart  from  the  merely  comparative 
merits  of  the  goods,  before  the  final  decision  to  buy  is  reached. 
The  merits  of  the  goods  are  rarely  sufficient  in  themselves  to 
rouse  the  buying  motive,  and  the  argument  is  strengthened  in 
proportion  as  it  appeals  to  any  of  these  instincts  or  emotions 
or  higher  mental  processes  that,  combined,  provide  the  buying 
motive. 

These  motives  vary  with  the  kind  of  goods  bought,  the 
character  of  the  buyer,  and  the  conditions  under  which  the 
buyer  and  seller  meet.  For  the  purpose  of  salesmanship,  the 
leading  motives  must  be  analyzed  and  reduced  to  a  working 
basis;  upon  one  or  more  of  these  the  sales  argument  can  always 
be  based. 

Friendliness. — The  first  appeal  that  the  salesman  should 
make  is  to  the  buyer’s  natural  tendency  to  be  friendly.  Friend¬ 
liness,  is  in  itself  no  reason  for  buying;  yet  when  a  prospec¬ 
tive  customer  feels  friendly  toward  a  salesman  he  is  inclined 
to  look  for  reasons  for  buying,  while  if  he  is  unfriendly  he 
looks  for  reasons  for  refusing  to  buy.  The  salesman  who 


MOTIVES  BEHIND  ALL  BUYING 


19 


approaches  the  customer  with  a  smile  and  gives  thorough 
evidence  of  the  desire  to  be  friendly  is  far  better  off  than  a 
gloomy  or  austere  salesman;  the  first  wins  some  degree  of 
favorable  consideration,  the  second  repels  it. 

The  Desire  for  Gain. — One  of  the  strongest  of  all  buying 
motives  is  the  desire  for  gain.  We  are  willing  to  spend  money 
in  order  to  make  money.  The  power  of  the  desire  for  gain 
rests  upon  the  significantly  vital  instincts  of  possession,  rivalry, 
imitation,  and  ambition,  and  sometimes  that  of  play  as  well. 
Therefore  this  is  the  most  dominant  of  all  commercial  in¬ 
stincts  and  its  satisfaction  is  the  main  motive  which  actuates 
business. 

Offering  goods  for  resale  is  one  of  the  most  important 
branches  of  salesmanship.  When  such  a  sale  is  made  it  is 
advisable  to  show  what  will  be  gained  thereby.  The  gain  may 
be  direct,  as  in  the  case  of  the  merchant  buying  merchandise 
to  be  sold  at  an  advanced  price ;  or  it  may  be  indirect,  as  when 
a  merchant  is  induced  to  invest  money  in  goods  that,  although 
bringing  slight  profit,  will  attract  trade  to  his  store.  The 
strongest  form  of  this  appeal  is  present  when  goods  are  offered 
at  a  reduced  price.  The  bargain  has  an  attraction  all  its  own 
and  will  often  .secure  attention  when  every  other  method  of 
appeal  has  failed. 

Whenever  a  sale  is  made  for  business  as  distinguished 
from  personal  use,  the  appeal  to  the  desire  for  gain  comes 
first  in  importance  and  is  the  primary  motive  on  which  the 
argument  should  be  based. 

The  Desire  to  Excel — A  natural  and  legitimate  pride  in 
achievement  arouses  in  all  the  desire  to  excel.  Ambition, 
rivalry,  imitation,  play,  and  other  instinctive  tendencies  are 
here  present.  In  those  of  strong  character  this  motive  reveals 
itself  as  ambition ;  in  weaker  mortals  it  degenerates  into  vanity. 


20 


PRINCIPLES  OF  SALESMANSHIP 


> 


Ambition  prompts  us  in  the  struggle  to  amass  wealth,  to  win 
promotion,  to  gain  power,  to  acquire  learning.  This  instinct 
may  reveal  itself  in  any  of  a  hundred  different  ways.  How¬ 
ever  revealed,  it  is  a  motive  to  which  an  appeal  can  be  made 
either  directly  or  indirectly  in  the  construction  of  almost  every 
sales  argument. 

A  rare  painting  valued  at  $100,000  came  for  sale  to  the 
gallery  of  a  famous  art  dealer  whose  judgment  was  as  reliable 
as  his  word.  He  promptly  invited  a  wealthy  patron  who  was 
at  that  time  forming  a  collection,  to  inspect  the  painting.  The 
picture  did  not  at  all  attract  the  customer  and  no  emphasis 
on  beauty  of  line,  tone,  or  color  aroused  interest.  The  assur¬ 
ance  of  the  dealer  that  the  painting  was  well  worth  the  price 
asked  proved  of  no  avail  and  the  sale  seemed  lost  until  the 
dealer  told  his  client  something  of  the  reputation  of  the  artist. 
He  dwelt  upon  the  latter’s  high  reputation  and  showed  that 
other  works  by  him  were  housed  in  the  illustrious  homes  of 
European  nobility. 

The  appeal  to  artistic  appreciation  and  to  confidence  in  the 
dealer’s  judgment  failed;  the  appeal  to  the  prestige  of  posses¬ 
sion  and  the  desire  to  excel,  by  possessing  something  finer 
than  other  people,  resulted  in  a  sale. 

A  salesman  offering  an  educational  course  aroused  suffi¬ 
cient  interest  in  the  subject  of  education  to  gain  the  ear  of 
his  prospect,  but  the  young  man’s  interest  proved  lukewarm 
and  passive.  The  problem  was  to  turn  this  apathetic  interest 
in  knowledge  into  an  active  desire  to  obtain  it  by  an  appeal  to 
latent  ambition.  The  salesman  knew  that  one  or  two  friends 
of  the  young  man  were  studying  business  courses  in  order 
to  prepare  themselves  for  bigger  things.  He  therefore  pictured 
the  results  of  their  efforts  and  contrasted  their  future  progress 
and  influence  with  the  probable  mediocrity  of  his  unambitious 
listener.  The  appeal  to  the  desire  to  excel,  i.e.,  to  the  instinct 
of  rivalry,  was  strong  enough  to  effect  the  sale. 


MOTIVES  BEHIND  ALL  BUYING 


21 


The  Appeal  to  Caution. — Caution  is  the  primary  motive 
to  which  an  appeal  should  be  made  in  the  sale  of  anything 
which  guards  against  loss,  injury,  or  danger.  It  arises  from 
such  instinctive  and  emotional  states  as  fear,  family  affection, 
hoarding,  and  occasionally  some  others,  such  as  ambition  or 
rivalry.  Caution  is  the  mainspring  in  the  purchase  of  all 
forms  of  insurance.  The  father  of  a  family  wishes  to  protect 
his  wife  and  children  against  want  in  the  event  of  his  death; 
the  owner  of  a  house  takes  out  insurance  to  protect  himself 
against  loss  by  fire ;  the  business  man  buys  bonds  in  prosperous 
times  to  provide  against  financial  difficulties  in  hard  times. 
This  desire  for  safety  may  in  some  cases  be  a  stronger  motive 
of  appeal  than  the  desire  for  gain.  A  cautious  business  man 
seeking  an  investment  would  be  inclined  to  buy  government 
bonds  or  investments,  even  though  yielding  a  low  rate  of  return, 
because  they  would  assure  him  of  the  security  of  his  money. 

This  instinct  may  sometimes  be  effectively  appealed  to  with 
goods  which  are  not  intended  directly  to  satisfy  it.  To  illus¬ 
trate,  a  salesman  called  at  a  dry  goods  store  and  offered  an 
exclusive  agency  for  a  certain  brand  of  hosiery.  The  buyer 
recognized  the  merits  of  the  line  and  the  desirability  of  the 
agency,  but  his  caution  made  him  procrastinate.  To  the  stereo¬ 
typed  answer :  “I  don’t  want  to  do  anything  about  it  now,  but 
I  may  a  little  later,”  the  salesman  replied : 

“We  shall  be  very  glad  to  have  you  handle  our  agency  a 
little  later,  Mr.  Jones,  if  it  is  still  open.  In  the  meantime 
you  can  have  no  objection  to  my  offering  the  proposition  to 
the  People’s  Store.” 

The  suggestion  that  an  opportunity  of  securing  a  possible 
and  highly  probable  advantage  over  him  might  be  offered  to 
the  merchant’s  competitor,  sufficed  to  close  the  sale. 

In  another  instance  a  business  man  about  to  take  a  trip 
across  the  continent  was  approached  by  a  representative  of  one 
of  the  transcontinental  railroads.  There  seemed  no  particular 


22 


PRINCIPLES  OF  SALESMANSHIP 


reason  why  the  business  man  should  travel  over  the  agent’s 
roach  In  conversation  the  agent  learned  that  the  prospective 
passenger  always  carried  accident  insurance  when  traveling. 
This  indicated  that  the  instinct  of  caution  was  strongly  de¬ 
veloped.  The  agent  therefore  laid  great  stress  on  the  fact 
that  his  road  had  not  met  with  a  serious  passenger  train  acci¬ 
dent  for  years.  This  sufficed  to  secure  an  order  for  tickets. 

For  one  business  man  who  is  willing  to  take  chances  and 
throw  caution  to  the  winds  there  are  a  dozen  who  prefer  the 
safe  course.  Every  selling  argument  should  include  when 
possible  an  appeal  to  the  innate  cautiousness  of  human  nature. 

Desire  for  Knowledge. — All  civilized  progress  is  due  to 
the  desire  for  knowledge.  This  motive  probably  arises  from 
such  instinctive  tendencies  as  curiosity,  self-protection  or  fear, 
and  ambition.  Lacking  this  motive,  knowledge  would  have 
been  gained  solely  by  experience  and  nothing  would  have  been 
developed  by  scientific  experiment  and  study  based  on  knowl¬ 
edge  formerly  acquired  and  preserved.  To  it  we  owe  printing 
and  the  widespread  sale  of  books.  It  prompts  us  in  the  ac¬ 
quisition  of  miscellaneous  information  for  its  own  sake  apart 
from  any  use  to  which  the  information  may  be  put.  It  is  a 
compelling  influence  of  much  value  to  the  salesman  and  the 
advertiser  in  its  elemental  form  of  simple  curiosity. 

As  illustrations  of  the  potency  of  the  appeal  to  this  motive 
in  suitable  cases,  consider  the  methods  of  the  salesman  selling 
educational  works  such  as  dictionaries,  encyclopedias,  travel¬ 
ogues,  works  of  history,  and  so  on.  He  bases  his  argument  on 
the  supposition  that  his  prospective  customers  are  thirsting 
for  the  information  contained  in  his  books.  When  he  has 
first  aroused  their  curiosity,  he  proves  to  their  satisfaction  that 
this  thirst  will  be  assuaged  by  quoting  interesting  extracts 
from  the  work,  choosing  those  which  tend  to  rouse  the  desire 
for  further  knowledge. 


MOTIVES  BEHIND  ALL  BUYING 


23 


Frequently  the  appeal  to  curiosity  is  of  value  in  gaining 
an  interview  and  in  arousing  the  interest  of  an  indifferent 
buyer.  Many  salesmen  refuse  to  reveal  their  identity  or  the 
nature  of  their  business  at  the  start.  The  interview  is  opened 
with  a  suggestion  carefully  designed  to  awaken  a  desire  for 
more  information  about  the  subject. 

The  Appeal  to  Imitation. — We  often  do  things  because 
others  do  them.  We  are  naturally  imitative  from  birth.  The 
child  first  learns  to  speak  in  this  way.  The  inherent  tendency 
to  imitate  others  explains  the  vogue  of  fashion  and  style. 
Manifestly  this  instinct  can  be  readily  appealed  to  in  the 
phrasing  of  the  sales  arguments. 

The  wealthy  art  patron  already  mentioned  was  finally  in¬ 
duced  to  buy  the  rare  painting  by  his  desire  to  excel;  but 
imitation — wanting  to  do  what  others  whom  he  admired  or 
envied  were  doing — primarily  led  to  the  formation  of  an  art 
collection  and  thus  to  the  purchase  in  question. 

One  man  establishes  a  certain  type  of  home  in  a  particular 
place  because  several  of  his  friends  have  done  so.  He  likes  to 
live  in  the  same  general  manner  as  well  as  in  the  company  of 
his  acquaintances;  among  his  motives  are  imitation  and  the 
desire  for  the  association  and  also  the  approval  of  his  fellows 
as  well  as  the  instinct  for  possession.  A  cautious  person  de¬ 
cides  on  the  purchase  of  a  particular  kind  of  automobile  be¬ 
cause  he  knows  that  many  others  have  bought  it,  a  fact  that 
inspires  confidence  in  the  merits  of  the  machine.  Here  caution 
and  the  desire  to  follow  the  lead  of  others  are  equally  blended. 
A  perfume  named  after  a  popular  singer  may  find  a  ready 
sale  because  it  is  presumed  that  the  singer  uses  and  indorses 
the  scent  and  an  appeal  is  thus  made  to  the  imitative  instinct. 
The  salesman  who  is  seeking  to  advertise  his  goods  in  a  dealer’s 
window  frequently  obtains  free  window  displays  by  appealing  to 
this  motive.  If  all  arguments  in  favor  of  putting  in  the  dis- 


24 


PRINCIPLES  OF  SALESMANSHIP 


play  fail  to  win  permission,  then  as  a  final  resource  the  dealer 
is  shown  photographs  of  other  prominent  stores  which  have 
made  profitable  use  of  the  displays.  Here  rivalry  and  ambi¬ 
tion  blend  with  imitation. 

The  majority  of  women  imitate  the  mode  of  living  or  the 
dress  or  the  actions  of  those  in  a  slightly  higher  social  sphere. 
The  retail  salesman  frequently  finds  it  advantageous  to  re¬ 
member  this  in  his  appeal.  If  he  is  selling  an  article  of  wear 
or  for  toilet  use,  for  example,  he  mentions  when  possible  the 
fact  that  Mrs.  Blank,  the  wife  of  the  bank  president,  or  some 
other  local  celebrity,  uses  the  same  thing. 

A  customer  in  a  hardware  store  was  hesitating  between  the 
purchase  of  a  $2  and  a  $3  saw.  The  salesman  thereupon  re¬ 
marked  that  Mr.  Wilkins  had  been  in  yesterday  and  bought 
one  of  the  $3  tools.  Mr.  Wilkins  was  well  known  to  the 
customer,  who  probably  relied  upon  his  friend’s  judgment, 
thus  satisfying  caution  as  well  as  imitation.  The  more  expen¬ 
sive  article  was  promptly  bought. 

The  appeal  to  imitation  can  be  most  effectively  made  either 
at  the  opening  of  an  interview  or  at  its  close  when  the  buyer 
reveals  indecision.  To  mention  the  name  of  a  customer  who 
has  just  bought  and  who  is  known  to  the  prospective  purchaser 
is  as  a  rule  an  effective  means  of  winning  the  ear  of  an  in¬ 
different  or  reluctant  prospect.  Similar  tactics  at  the  close 
of  the  argument  will  frequently  transform  an  undecided  pros¬ 
pect  into  a  satisfied  purchaser. 

The  Appeal  to  Affection. — An  appeal  to  this  emotion  has 
a  comparatively  limited  scope  since  love  of  family  or  even 
of  friends  is  usually  not  vitally  or  even  moderately  active  in 
business  affairs.  In  the  sale  of  certain  articles,  however,  the 
affections  cannot  be  ignored  as  a  means  of  strengthening  the 
argument.  The  prompting  of  this  instinct  induces  the  pur¬ 
chase  of  something  for  those  we  love.  An  obvious  example 


MOTIVES  BEHIND  ALL  BUYING 


25 


is  a  mother,  who  when  passing  through  a  store  is  easily  tempted 
to  take  home  an  article  of  finery  or  a  toy  for  her  child  if  an 
aptly  phrased  show  card  suggests  the  purchase  by  an  appeal  to 
affection. 

An  effective  appeal  can  be  made  to  this  motive  in  another 
way.  The  influence  of  a  friend,  a  wife,  or  a  mother,  is  often- 
times  so  strong  that  it  dominates  the  actions  of  those  they  love. 
Where  the  salesman  can  add  such  an  influence  in  favor  of  his 
offer  to  his  other  arguments,  his  appeal  will  be  proportionately 
strengthened. 

When  any  representative  of  a  well-known  correspondence 
school  visits  the  home  of  a  prospect  he  tries  to  arrange  for 
the  wife  or  parent  to  be  present  at  the  interview.  His  selling 
problem  is  to  arouse  the  ambition  of  the  purchaser  to  the  point 
of  sacrificing  the  time  and  money  needed  to  buy  and  study  a 
correspondence  course  of  instruction.  The  advice  and  urging 
of  a  wife  or  parent  often  impel  the  prospect  to  enroll  when 
the  arguments  of  the  salesman  have  failed.  Here  the  motive 
may  be  more  or  less  mixed  and  love  of  praise  and  ambition 
be  as  determining  factors  as  the  appeal  to  affection.  Many 
people  are  impelled  to  a  course  of  action  if  it  is  expected  to 
result  in  some  benefit  to  those  they  love,  though  they  remain 
obdurate  if  the  benefit  to  be  derived  is  for  themselves  alone. 

Love  of  Admiration. — The  love  of  praise  and  admiration 
is  inherent  in  human  nature.  In  its  natural  form  it  is  re¬ 
vealed  as  a  blend  of  the  desire  for  affection  and  the  approval 
of  one’s  fellows  with  ambition  and  a  healthy  rivalry  or  desire 
to  excel.  In  its  exaggerated  form  it  degenerates  into  vanity 
and  boastfulness.  The  powerful  appeal  of  extreme  fashion  is 
based  on  vanity. 

A  business  man  about  to  refurnish  his  office  had  decided  to 
buy  a  plain,  inexpensive  oak  suite.  This  would  have  served  his 
purpose  admirably;  but  when  the  salesman  vividly  pictured  the 


26 


PRINCIPLES  OF  SALESMANSHIP 


dignity  of  a  handsome  set  of  mahogany  furniture  and  the 
admiration  such  a  suite  would  receive  from  his  friends  and 
his  customers,  the  business  man  was  willing  to  pay  double 
the  price  he  had  first  allotted  to  the  equipment. 

Many  a  customer  buys  a  more  elaborately  equipped  auto¬ 
mobile  than  he  at  first  intends  when  he  contemplates  the  im¬ 
pression  such  a  car  will  make  upon  his  friends.  The  encyclo¬ 
pedia  salesman  appeals  to  this  instinct  when  he  points  out  the 
impressive  effect  and  the  gratification  afforded  by  the  presence 
of  such  a  handsome  and  scholarly  set  of  books  in  the  home 
bookcase. 

Many  members  of  colleges,  gymnasium  classes,  welfare 
clubs,  and  similar  organizations,  are  partly  moved  by  this  de¬ 
sire  for  the  respect  of  others. 

The  Pleasure  of  Possession. — It  is  obvious  that  the  more 
vividly  the  salesman  can  picture  the  pleasure  to  be  derived 
from  the  possession  of  anything,  the  stronger  the  selling  argu¬ 
ment  becomes.  This  pleasure  may  range  from  the  quiet  satis¬ 
faction  of  possessing  such  a  thing  as  an  enduring  and  perfect 
tool  to  the  youthful  ecstasy  of  owning  an  elaborate  and  much 
longed-for  toy.  The  pleasure  of  possession  can  be  most  fre¬ 
quently  appealed  to  when  selling  to  the  final  consumer  and 
is  a  form  of  sales  argument  most  readily  applicable  to  selling 
in  a  retail  store. 

Comfort. — The  impulse  to  be  comfortable  is  one  of  the 
strongest  today.  Any  offering  that  serves  to  add  to  the  ease 
of  living  has  a  strong  sales  argument.  There  are  compara¬ 
tively  few  commodities  that  do  not  offer  opportunity  for  the 
use  of  this  appeal,  either  directly  or  indirectly.  Coal,  tea,  fur¬ 
niture,  insurance,  shoes,  bonds,  books,  electric  appliances,  pic¬ 
tures — all  these  and  a  myriad  more  provide  the  salesman  with 
a  basis  for  this  appeal. 


MOTIVES  BEHIND  ALL  BUYING 


27 


Play  . — The  instinct  toward  play  is  one  of  the  simple, 
fundamental  tendencies  in  many  creatures,  including  man;  its 
basis  seems  to  be  the  natural  practice  or  exercise  of  muscles  or 
of  mind.  Baseball  and  chess,  snow-shoeing  and  riddles,  attract 
thousands  of  people  who  spend  large  amounts  of  time  and 
money  on  these  forms  of  play.  The  appeal  to  this  instinct 
cannot  be  used  in  every  sale,  perhaps;  yet  though  the  offering 
itself  provides  no  basis  for  the  appeal,  the  salesman  may 
frequently  use  the  play  instinct  in  order  to  secure  favorable 
attention,  for  friendliness  is  often  induced  by  a  joke  or  some 
similarly  playful  means. 

Appeal  to  as  Many  Instincts  as  Possible _ The  failure  of 

a  strong  appeal  to  the  most  powerful  buying  motive  does  not 
necessarily  mean  that  the  sale  cannot  be  made.  A  merchant 
may  be  convinced  that  an  article  offered  will  return  a  hand¬ 
some  profit  and  be  well  worth  handling.  But  if  he  is  already 
overstocked  or  if  he  is  short  of  capital  he  may  reject  the 
offer  for  the  time  being  and  concentrate  his  efforts  on  the 
disposal  of  the  goods  on  hand.  In  such  a  case  the  salesman 
can  still  pave  the  way  for  a  future  sale. 

An  automobile  salesman  may  have  pictured  the  pleasure  to 
be  derived  from  the  possession  of  a  motor  car,  he  may  have 
convinced  the  prospect  that  his  machine  is  as  mechanically 
perfect  as  such  a  piece  of  mechanism  can  be,  and  that  the 
cost  of  maintenance  and  operation  is  reduced  to  the  lowest 
possible  limit ;  but  the  appeal  to  pleasure,  caution,  and  economy 
may  fail  if  for  reasons  best  known  to  himself  the  prospective 
purchaser  has  decided  to  deny  himself  the  gratification  of  own¬ 
ing  an  automobile.  In  such  a  case  the  enterprising  salesman 
seeks  other  arguments  and  modes  of  appeal  in  order  to  break 
down  opposition.  Success  frequently  depends  upon  resource 
in  arousing  other  buying  motives  when  the  obvious  arguments 
have  failed. 


28 


PRINCIPLES  OF  SALESMANSHIP 


The  resourceful  automobile  salesman  already  mentioned 
had  vainly  tried  to  sell  a  luxurious  high-powered  car  to  a 
wealthy  customer  who  two  or  three  years  before  had  bought 
a  comparatively  inexpensive  runabout.  The  prospect  acknowl¬ 
edged  that  the  high-powered  car  was  all  that  was  claimed, 
yet  he  remained  obdurate  despite  the  salesman’s  varied  and 
eloquent  arguments. 

After  half  a  dozen  fruitless  interviews  the  salesman  deter¬ 
mined  to  appeal  to  an  instinct  which  he  had  so  far  neglected. 
He  drove  the  car  in  question  to  the  home  of  the  prospect 
while  the  latter  was  away  on  business.  He  then  invited  the 
two  daughters  of  the  house  to  take  a  trial  trip  in  the  car, 
explaining  that  if  they  would  add  the  influence  of  their  opinions 
and  convictions  of  the  car’s  merits  to  his  sales  argument  their 
father  would  probably  purchase  it.  A  trial  ride  followed  by 
an  evening’s  family  discussion  brought  a  prompt  purchase. 

Here  the  salesman  based  his  final  appeal  on  affection.  This 
proved  the  final  influence  that  turned  the  scale. 

The  vast  majority  of  sales  result  from  the  culminating 
effect  of  a  series  of  appeals  to  a  variety  of  motives,  for  one 
motive  alone  is  seldom  powerful  enough  to  produce  action. 

Which  Instincts  to  Appeal  to. — The  aim  of  the  salesman 
is  obviously  to  base  his  appeal  on  those  instincts  which  are 
presumed  to  exert  the  strongest  influence  over  the  prospective 
buyer.  In  selling  to  a  retail  merchant  it  is  apparent  that  his 
principal  motive  for  buying  is  the  satisfaction  of  the  desire 
for  profit.  In  selling  a  radio  set  to  a  person  who  does  not 
yet  own  one  but  who  can  well  afford  the  price,  the  dominating 
instinct  will  be  pleasure.  In  selling  a  new  car  to  somebody 
who  already  owns  one  the  chief  motive  of  appeal  may  be  pride. 
But,  as  has  been  shown,  the  motive  which  most  influences 
the  sale  may  not  always  be  the  apparent  one.  In  selling  life 
insurance  the  satisfaction  of  caution  and  affection  would  seem 


MOTIVES  BEHIND  ALL  BUYING 


29 


to  be  the  principal  form  of  appeal;  yet  with  some  people  a 
stronger  motive  may  be  a  desire  for  gain.  The  fact  that 
immediately  on  taking  out  a  $5,000  policy  they  have  added 
$5,000  to  their  estate  may  appeal  to  their  instinct  for  saving. 

In  the  construction  of  his  various  sales  arguments  the 
salesman  should  aim  to  present  his  offer  in  a  variety  of  ways 
so  as  to  appeal  to  as  many  motives  as  possible.  Then  in  the 
presence  of  a  prospect  he  can  readily  ascertain  the  most  potent 
buying  motive  by  feeling  his  ground ;  or,  as  has  been  said,  the 
appeal  may  be  made  to  several  motives  in  an  endeavor  to 
ascertain  the  dominant  one,  thus  making  the  combined  appeal 
strong  enough  to  effect  the  sale. 

An  Appeal  May  Prevent  Sale. — In  attempting  to  rouse 
the  buying  motive  the  salesman  may  appeal  to  instincts  or 
emotions  that  are  not  pleasing  to  the  prospect.  For  instance, 
if  a  salesman  appeals  to  the  play  instinct  by  becoming  jocular 
with  a  dignified,  reserved  prospect,  he  will  repel  rather  than 
attract. 

•  Every  reason  for  buying  may  also  be  a  reason  for  not 
buying,  depending  on  the  customer’s  general  characteristics 
and  condition  of  mind  at  the  time  of  the  interview. 

The  salesman,  therefore,  must  possess  a  fine  discernment 
of  the  customer’s  inclinations  and  choose  from  the  range  of 
buying  motives  just  those  which  he  believes  the  prospect  will 
desire  to  satisfy. 


\1 


CHAPTER  III 

THE  CUSTOMER’S  MENTAL  JOURNEY 

The  Mental  Stages. — The  discussion  in  the  preceding 
chapter  leads  to  the  formulation  of  an  elemental  principle  in 
salesmanship:  To  effect  a  sale  the  mind  of  the  buyer  must 
be  led  from  its  mood  at  the  beginning  of  the  interview  to  the 
stage  of  buying.  In  other  words,  the  salesman  acts  upon  the 
customer’s  mind,  stirs  and  stimulates  buying  motives,  converts 
him  from  a  passive  to  an  actively  receptive  attitude. 

The  prospective  customer  may  be  in  any  conceivable  frame 
of  mind.  His  mood  may  be  good-natured  and  friendly  or 
irritable  and  discourteous.  He  may  be  already  interested  in 
the  offer,  or  indifferent,  or  even  antagonistic. 

Whatever  his  attitude  of  mind,  the  salesman  must  by  means 
of  personality  and  through  arguments  in  favor  of  his  goods, 
cause  the  prospect’s  mind  to  pass  through  certain  mental  states 
— to  take  a  mental  journey  as  it  were — progressing  along  the 
route  of  Attention - Interest - Desire - Action. 

This  mental  journey  should  hardly  be  likened  to  a  railroad 
trip  from  Attention  to  Action  with  Interest  and  Desire  as 
stopping  places  en  route;  it  is  far  more  comparable  to  a  boat 
trip  down  a  river,  passing  from  one  type  of  scenery  into  and 
through  others;  because  attention  shades  into  interest  and  de¬ 
sire  is  transformed  into  action  before  one  realizes  where  the 
first  stage  ends  and  the  second  begins.  No  sale  can  be  made 
until  attention  is  first  given  to  the  proposition,  until  interest 
is  awakened,  desire  for  the  commodity  aroused,  and  action 
finally  secured.  In  sales  outside  the  retail  field,  the  buyer 


30 


THE  CUSTOMER’S  MENTAL  JOURNEY 


31 


knows  little  or  nothing  about  the  offer  and  accordingly  he  is 
inclined  to  be  indifferent  or  else  on  the  defensive.  He  must 
in  consequence  be  taken  on  this  mental  journey  before  he  is 
transformed  from  a  prospect  into  a  customer. 

The  Mental  States  in  a  Retail  Sale. — Even  when  a  simple 
retail  purchase  is  made,  the  customer’s  mind  passes  through 
these  mental  stages.  Before  the  housewife  decides  to  buy 
something  for  the  breakfast  table,  her  attention  is  drawn  to 
the  matter  by  the  demands  of  the  appetite;  interest  is  aroused 
to  satisfy  this  demand  in  the  most  satisfactory  way  that  her 
means  permit;  she  desires  to  purchase  certain  things;  action 
promptly  follows.  These  stages  may  be  reached  almost  simul¬ 
taneously  when  the  purchase  is  a  daily  need  or  a  trivial  matter 
which  needs  little  consideration.  But  as  the  importance  of 
the  purchase  or  the  service  increases  and  its  price  rises,  more 
thought  is  devoted  to  the  expenditure;  and  this  line  of  thought 
then  becomes  more  clearly  a  passage  through  the  four  stages 
already  enumerated. 

Carrying  the  analysis  a  degree  further  we  shall  in  this 
chapter  consider  each  of  these  mental  states  in  some  slight 
detail.  Not  until  further  ground  is  covered  can  suggestions 
be  given  as  to  how  the  sales  arguments  are  to  be  constructed 
so  as  to  carry  the  mind  of  a  reluctant  prospect  from  apathetic 
indifference  or  even  antagonism  to  a  sale. 

Attention. — There  are  many  ways  of  attracting  attention, 
some  of  them  uncommon  and  even  bizarre,  but  it  is  no  part  of 
salesmanship  to  adopt  unusual  methods  merely  for  the  sake 
of  attracting  attention.  Moreover  such  methods  usually  fail 
in  their  effect  because  of  their  crudity  or  inappropriateness. 
When  a  prospective  customer  is  first  approached  the  aim  should 
simply  be  to  turn  him  from  his  indifferent  or  antagonistic  atti¬ 
tude  into  the  noncommittal  one  of  at  least  being  willing  to 


32 


PRINCIPLES  OF  SALESMANSHIP 


listen  to  the  proposition.  This  transformation  may  be  effected 
by  means  of  the  opening  sentence  or  merely  by  the  approach 
of  the  salesman  himself.  If  he  is  so  fortunate  as  to  be  equipped 
with  a  particularly  pleasing  personality  and  comes  forward 
with  a  smile  that  disarms  suspicion  because  of  its  frank  sin¬ 
cerity,  he  may  at  once  secure  the  kind  of  attention  he  is  seeking. 
Not  all  salesmen,  however,  are  equipped  in  this  happy  way. 
So  assuming  merely  that  there  is  nothing  unpleasing  in  voice, 
bearing,  or  address  to  create  a  feeling  of  antagonism  in  the 
customer’s  mind,  everything  depends  upon  the  effect  made  by 
the  opening  sentence 

The  cash  register  salesman,  for  instance,  when  he  first  in¬ 
troduces  himself  to  a  customer  does  not  open  with  a  common¬ 
place  introduction  such  as,  “I  represent  So-and-So,”  or  “I 
have  called  to  sell  you  a  register,”  or  “I  should  like  to  talk 
to  you  about  our  registers”;  he  puts  it,  rather,  in  this  way, 
“I  want  to  interest  you  in  our  new  methods  for  taking  care 
of  transactions  with  customers  in  your  store.”  The  store¬ 
keeper  is  not  interested  in  a  register  as  a  register,  nor  in  the 
firm  that  sells  them.  But  he  is  interested  in  recording  transac¬ 
tions  which  take  place  in  his  store. 

Having  thus  secured  attention  and  to  some  extent  interest, 
the  salesman  proceeds  to  transform  this  interest  into  desire 
by  explaining  in  how  many  ways  a  cash  register  will  enable 
better  care  to  be  taken  of  the  store’s  transactions — information 
which  has  been  obtained  by  a  previous  diagnosis  of  the  dealer’s 
needs. 

Securing  Attention  by  Mail. — Attention  to  the  offer  is 

sometimes  secured  in  other  ways.  Frequently  the  customer  is 
advised  in  advance  of  the  salesman’s  call,  either  by  means  of 
a  personal  letter  which  outlines  the  nature  of  the  offer,  or  by 
means  of  circulars,  booklets,  or  other  advertising  literature. 
The  aim  in  each  case  is  to  draw  attention  to  the  advantages 


THE  CUSTOMER’S  MENTAL  JOURNEY 


33 

of  the  thing  advertised  with  the  hope  that  when  a  salesman 
calls  he  will  be  given  an  interview. 

This  method  is  often  adopted  in  selling  a  specialty.  Fre¬ 
quently  the  customer  is  “circularized”  several  times  with  litera¬ 
ture  specially  written  to  arouse  attention  and  interest.  Thus 
the  ground  is  prepared  so  that  when  a  representative  calls  the 
customer  is  sufficiently  interested  in  the  proposition  to  desire 
further  information  and  will  consequently  grant  attention  at 
once. 

Interest. — Attention  is  gradually  transformed  into  interest 
in  measure  as  the  buyer’s  willingness  to  listen  is  changed  into 
an  active  wishing  for  information.  In  nine  cases  out  of  ten 
the  stage  of  interest  is  reached  when  an  acknowledgment  of 
the  merits  of  the  offer  can  be  drawn  from  the  general  type 
of  buyer  by  means  of  adroit  inquiries  and  he  himself  begins 
to  ask  questions;  or  when  the  taciturn,  capricious,  or  critical 
type  of  customer  begins  to  detect  flaws  and  disadvantages  in 
the  offer.  In  this  way  the  latter  reveals  his  interest  in  learning 
more  about  it.  He  may  even  go  so  far  as  to  acknowledge  that 
he  is  willing  to  consider  the  proposition.  When  this  stage  of 
interest  is  reached  the  salesman  can  begin  to  appeal  to  the 
particular  buying  motive  which  the  nature  of  the  offer  and 
the  temperament  of  the  buyer  may  indicate.  By  this  means 
interest  which  is  more  or  less  impersonal  is  transformed  into  a 
strong  desire  for  personal  ownership. 

Desire. — As  attention  shades  into  interest  so  desire  shades 
into  action  or  a  definite  promise  to  buy.  A  faint  tinge  of 
interest  is  gradually  deepened  into  definite  desire.  This  can 
be  done,  as  will  be  more  fully  explained  later,  by  imbuing  the 
customer  with  the  salesman’s  own  enthusiasm.  Unless  the 
salesman  is  enthusiastic  about  the  merits  of  his  goods  and  the 
advantages  to  be  derived  from  their  possession,  he  has  little 


34 


PRINCIPLES  OF  SALESMANSHIP 


chance  of  rousing  the  buying  motive.  To  effect  a  sale,  desire 
must  be  made  so  strong  that  the  benefits  to  be  derived  from 
the  offer  loom  larger  in  the  mind  than  the  money  which  must 
be  paid  out.  Until  the  salesman  is  sure  that  the  desire  to 
possess  is  so  strong  that  price  is  no  longer  the  chief  considera¬ 
tion,  he  should  not  attempt  to  impel  the  prospect  along  his 
« 

mental  journey  to  the  final  stage  of  action — a  positive  decision 
to  buy  and  to  buy  now. 

Action — A  prospective  customer  may  desire  to  take  advan¬ 
tage  of  an  offer  because  it  represents  good  value  in  every  way, 
but  this  does  not  necessarily  imply  that  a  sale  will  follow.  It  is 
human  nature  to  vacillate  before  purchasing,  and  this  vacillation 
grows  in  proportion  to  the  ratio  of  the  expenditure  to  the 
customer’s  total  income.  The  more  momentous  the  purchase 
the  greater  becomes  the  fear,  either  definite  or  intangible,  that 
possibly  a  mistake  is  being  made  or  that  better  value  for  the 
same  money  may  be  found  elsewhere.  In  consequence,  cau¬ 
tion  impels  the  prospective  purchaser  to  take  plenty  of  time 
before  coming  to  a  final  decision. 

This  inability  to  make  up  one’s  mind  often  appears  when 
even  a  trifling  purchase  is  to  be  made.  How  much  more, 
therefore,  is  it  to  be  expected  when  the  purchase  represents  an 
investment  of  any  importance.  If  the  buyer  is  unable  of  his 
own  accord  to  come  to  a  definite  decision,  he  tries  as  a  rule  to 
postpone  action  until  a  later  date  or  until  the  salesman  calls 
again.  The  salesman  must  be  able  to  ascertain  the  reason  for 
this  indecision  and  also  must  be  equipped  with  arguments 
which  will  help  the  customer  to  make  up  his  mind. 

The  Salesman  as  a  Guide — The  construction  of  the  sales 
talk  must  be  based  on  the  mental  journey  which  the  customer 
takes  under  the  salesman’s  guidance.  The  customer  is  so  prone 
to  be  indifferent  or  opposed  to  the  journey  that  his  guide  must 


THE  CUSTOMER’S  MENTAL  JOURNEY 


35 


possess  special  skill  in  directing  the  course,  now  leading,  now 
driving,  now  blocking  a  byway  of  escape,  now  letting  the  cus¬ 
tomer  ride  on  the  current,  and  again  bending  to  the  oar  and 
speeding  him  on  his  course.  Knowledge  of  customers  of  all 
kinds,  knowledge  of  his  goods  and  their  field,  skill  in  demon¬ 
stration,  and  skill  in  handling  human  nature  are  a  large  part 
of  his  equipment.  Particularly  should  the  salesman  realize 
that,  in  a  general  way,  Attention  is  given  to  him,  Interest  is 
favorable  attention  given  to  his  offering,  Desire  is  a  specific 
wish  to  profit  by  the  offering,  while  Action  is  executed  desire. 


CHAPTER  IV 


ATTITUDES  OF  BUYER  AND  SALESMAN 

The  Classification  of  Buyers — We  have  seen  that  in  the 
construction  of  the  sales  argument  the  object  is  not  only  to 
describe  the  goods  or  offer,  but  also  to  appeal  to  and  rouse 
as  many  buying  motives  as  are  permitted  by  the  nature  of  the 

i 

goods  and  the  services  they  render.  From  this  it  follows 
that  the  form  which  an  argument  or  appeal  may  take  must  be 
varied  to  suit  first  the  needs  and  next  the  temperament  of  the 
individual  customer. 

All  customers  fall  into  one  of  three  classes :  wholesale, 
specialty,  or  retail.  Each  class  has  a  different  general  mental 
attitude  toward  the  salesman  and  this  attitude  is  again  modified 
by  the  individual’s  temperament.  In  this  chapter  we  consider 
the  needs  of  the  different  classes,  leaving  for  later  discussion 
the  modifications  which  the  salesman  will  make  in  the  presenta¬ 
tion  of  his  arguments  in  order  to  appeal  to  the  temperament 
of  the  individual  with  whom  he  is  dealing. 

The  Wholesale  Buyer. — Wholesale  buyers  may  be  retail 
merchants  or  department  managers,  or  wholesalers — com¬ 
monly  called  “jobbers.”  Their  purpose  in  buying  is  to  sell 
again  at  a  profit.  Therefore  they  are  more  or  less  profes¬ 
sional  appraisers  of  values.'  It  is  their  business  to  scrutinize 
every  offer  of  goods  with  a  view  to  selecting  those  which  from 
the  viewpoint  of  profit  and  prestige  will  seem  most  attractive 
to  the  customers  to  whom  they  must  resell  the  goods.  They 
are  interested  in  the  most  attractive  styles  or  the  most  durable 


ATTITUDES  OF  BUYER  AND  SALESMAN 


37 

qualities  or  both — solely  from  the  viewpoint  of  the  profit  that 
can  be  made  from  resaie. 

The  retail  merchant,  in  addition  to  the  goods  required  for 
his  regular  trade,  is  always  on  the  lookout  for  articles  which 
will  especially  please  the  customers  to  whom  he  caters  and 
thus  enable  him  to  sell  more  goods  and  make  more  profit. 

There  is  then,  on  the  part  of  all  buyers  at  wholesale  an 
attitude  of  interest  in  any  offer  which  they  consider  may  be 
profitable  for  them  to  accept.  The  wholesaler  is  interested  in 
any  improvement  in  methods  of  manufacture;  new  patterns, 
styles,  designs,  are  items  of  news  that  he  is  glad  to  hear  about. 
So  also  the  retailer  desires  to  be  shown  new  products  or  new 
lines  which  offer  him  a  better  value  or  greater  profit  than 
those  he  already  handles. 

The  Problem  of  the  Wholesale  Buyer. — Because  buyers 
at  wholesale  are  professional  buyers  and  are  always  in  the 
market  for  commodities,  much  of  their  time  is  taken  up  in 
inspecting  salesmen’s  samples.  A  score  or  more  of  representa¬ 
tives  may  call  upon  a  buyer  every  week,  depending  upon  the 
size  of  the  firm  and  the  frequency  of  its  purchases. 

A  large  drug  store,  for  example,  carries  thousands  of  dif¬ 
ferent  items.  Salesmen  from  many  wholesale  and  manufac¬ 
turing  houses  call  upon  the  store’s  buyer  hoping  to  secure  his 
business  in  lines  which  he  is  already  handling  and  which  are 
bought  from  other  concerns.  Other  salesmen  call  upon  him 
with  new  lines  and  try  to  induce  him  to  place  them  in  stock  and 
so  add  to  his  already  large  variety.  Each  salesman  offers 
reasons,  more  or  less  good,  why  the  druggist  should  either  add 
the  new  line  to  his  stock  or  let  it  replace  a  line  he  already  sells. 

Thus  from  a  great  variety  of  offerings  the  wholesale  buyer 
must  select  a  few  and  reject  many.  While  he  is  always  in¬ 
terested  in  inspecting  goods,  the  pressure  brought  to  bear  upon 
him  by  the  number  of  salesmen  soliciting  his  business  is  such 


38 


PRINCIPLES  OF  SALESMANSHIP 


that  he  cannot  afford  to  give  much  time  to  each  salesman.  If 
he  did  he  could  do  little  else,  whereas  his  duties  consist  of 
far  more  than  listening  to  salesmen’s  arguments. 

The  Attitude  of  the  Wholesale  Buyer _ For  this  reason 

the  wholesale  buyer  is  usually  reserved,  cold,  and  slow  to 
respond  to  the  efforts  of  the  salesman  with  whom  he  has  not 
yet  done  business.  His  time  is  so  largely  taken  up  by  the 
inspection  of  offerings  which  have  no  interest  for  him  that 
he  is  chary  of  giving  encouragement  until  he  is  assured  that 
the  goods  are  something  he  may  want.  True,  the  salesman 
may  be  offering  commodities  which  the  buyer’s  firm  sells  and 
they  may  be  of  good  value;  but  the  wholesaler  may  already 
be  buying  similar  goods  from  some  other  house.  Unless  he 
is  offered  a  lower  price  or  some  other  obvious  inducement, 
there  is  no  particular  reason  why  he  should  favor  the  unknown 
salesman  in  preference  to  his  existing  connections.  He  there¬ 
fore  resists  any  efforts  to  convince  him  of  the  advantages  of 
changing  his  connections. 

Wholesale  buyers  want  to  find  out  at  the  beginning  of 
the  interview  what  the  salesman  has  to  offer — “what  his  prop¬ 
osition  is” — and  to  decide  immediately  whether  it  is  worth 
investigating.  In  the  majority  of  cases  they  are  actively  on 
the  defensive.  They  look  for  objections  to  the  goods  offered 
and  for  reasons  why  they  should  not  buy.  They  know  that 
plenty  of  arguments  in  favor  of  buying  will  be  provided  by  the 
salesman. 

The  Salesman’s  Attitude  Toward  Wholesale  Buyers. — 

Thus  in  his  approach  to  wholesale  buyers  the  salesman  will 
find  little  encouragement  in  their  general  attitude.  They  will 
be  mildly  skeptical,  cautious  in  revealing  interest,  and  prepared 
to  guard  themselves  against  encouraging  the  salesman,  how¬ 
ever  attractive  the  offer  may  appear.  Unless  they  decide  early 


ATTITUDES  OF  BUYER  AND  SALESMAN 


39 


in  the  interview  that  the  proposition  is  of  interest  to  them, 
they  will  immediately  try  to  dismiss  the  salesman.  The  readi¬ 
ness  with  which  an  interview  will  be  granted  at  all  will  depend 
upon  the  demands  made  upon  the  buyer’s  time  and  the  prestige 
of  the  firm  represented  by  the  salesman.  When  the  salesman 
finally  comes  face  to  face  with  his  customer  his  attitude  will 
vary  widely.  In  the  presence  of  a  busy  wholesale  buyer  or 
the  buyer  for  a  department  in  a  large  store  every  effort  must 
be  concentrated  on  proving  at  the  start  that  the  salesman’s 
line  is  well  worth  the  buyer’s  inspection.  In  the  presence  of 
the  small  retailer  or  a  buyer  whose  business  is  largely  covered 
by  the  salesman’s  line,  the  salesman  can  go  to  work  in  a  more 
leisurely  manner.  Whatever  the  method  adopted  a  point  to 
bear  in  mind  always  is  that  the  wholesale  buyer  is  not  governed 
in  his  purchase  by  the  styles  and  qualities  which  manufacturers 
produce  for  the  country  at  large ;  he  is  influenced  wholly  by  his 
personal  judgment  as  to  the  wants  of  his  own  customers. 

The  Buyer’s  Particular  Trade  Must  be  Considered. — The 

appeal  to  the  motive  of  profit  is  strengthened  in  the  degree  that 
the  salesman  is  able  to  select  from  his  stock  one  or  more 
samples  that  will  appeal  strongly  to  the  class  of  trade  to  which 
the  buyer  caters.  To  do  this,  entails  careful  study  of  the 
buyer’s  needs,  of  the  existing  stock  carried,  and  of  the  goods 
and  methods  of  competitors.  Equipped  with  this  information 
the  salesman  can  safely  be  insistent  that  certain  goods  be  given 
a  trial  without  any  fear  of  antagonizing  the  buyer.  When 
addressing  an  unknown  prospect  the  most  that  a  salesman  can 
hope  for  in  nine  cases  out  of  ten  is  to  insert  a  wedge  with  one 
line  of  goods  or  a  modest  trial  order  of  his  whole  line.  Sub¬ 
sequent  orders  then  depend  largely  on  the  fate  of  the  first 
order  as  exemplified  in  turnover  and  profit  therefrom. 

The  salesman  should  be  more  insistent  both  upon  an  inter- 
dew  and  a  trial  order  when  selling  goods  with  a  seasonal 


40 


PRINCIPLES  OF  SALESMANSHIP 


appeal  or  a  limited  turnover  than  when  selling  staples  in  every¬ 
day  demand.  The  reason  is  plain.  Only  from  two  to  four 
calls  a  year  will  be  necessary  for  goods  with  a  seasonal  appeal, 
whereas  orders  for  staples  will  need  to  be  taken  just  as  fre¬ 
quently  as  these  are  consumed.  The  fact  that  the  salesman 
cannot  call  again  for  two  or  three  months  makes  the  visit  of 
greater  importance  than  a  weekly  or  monthly  call  and  justifies 
him  in  exercising  more  aggressiveness  and  insistence. 

For  example,  the  grocery  salesman  representing  a  jobber 
and  calling  upon  his  prospects  every  week  may,  without  neg¬ 
lecting  to  present  the  merits  of  his  goods  if  opportunity  offers, 
be  well  advised  to  bend  his  first  efforts  toward  winning  the 
buyer’s  good-will.  His  frequent  calls  should  in  time  make 
him  well  acquainted  with  his  prospects,  and  through  the  mutual 
friendliness  thus  established  he  may  in  time  secure  an  order. 
The  wholesale  hat  salesman  who  sees  his  prospects  only  three 
or  four  times  a  year  cannot  afford  to  devote  a  number  of  visits 
to  building  up  good-will,  the  importance  of  which  increases 
with  the  frequency  of  meetings  between  salesman  and  buyer 
He  must  concentrate  on  securing  the  buyer’s  immediate  atten 
tion  for  the  offer  itself. 

The  Specialty  Buyer. — Specialty  buying  consists  in  buying 
for  consumption  and  from  a  salesman  who  calls  upon  the 
buyer;  it  resembles  a  retail  sale  in  the  first  respect — the  pur¬ 
chase  for  use — and  the  majority  of  wholesale  sales  in  the 
second — the  salesman’s  visit.  Specialty  buyers  may  be  divided 
into  two  classes :  ( i )  those  who  are  always  in  the  market  for 
the  commodity  offered;  (2)  those  who  seldom  need  the  com¬ 
modity  offered — or  to  whom  it  is  new.  For  convenience  we 
will  designate  these  as  class  A  and  class  B,  respectively. 

Class  A  embraces  buyers  of  raw  materials  which  are  used 
in  the  manufacture  of  goods,  or  of  office  and  of  factory 
supplies  which  must  continually  be  replenished. 


ATTITUDES  OF  BUYER  AND  SALESMAN 


41 


In  class  B  we  group  all  buyers  of  articles  which,  from  their 
nature  and  the  use  to  which  they  are  to  be  put,  do  not  involve 
an  early  repeat  order — exemplified  in  such  articles  as  pianos, 
books,  office  devices,  machinery,  and  so  on. 

Class  A.  The  attitude  of  buyers  belonging  to  this  class 
is  similar  to  that  of  wholesale  buyers.  They  are  offered  some¬ 
thing  they  are  constantly  buying.  While  the  purpose  for 
which  the  goods  are  bought  differs — i.e.,  wholesale  buyers  buy 
goods  for  resale,  the  specialty  buyers  for  consumption — the 
same  desire  exists  to  inspect  new  goods  which  may  be  better 
for  the  purpose  in  view  or  which  may  be  more  economical 
in  use.  The  user  of  lubricating  oil,  for  example,  is  interested 
in  any  oil  which  will  prove  more  economical  in  keeping  his 
machinery  in  good  running  order;  the  furniture  manufacturer 
is  glad  to  know  of  a  quality  of  paint  or  varnish  which  will 
improve  the  appearance  of  his  furniture  or  save  time  or  money 
in  operation.  A  new  paper  which  can  be  used  with  increased 
ease,  popularity,  or  economy  attracts  the  publisher  or  printer. 
In  short,  the  attitude  of  these  buyers  is  one  of  general  interest 
in  the  class  of  goods  which  they  use. 

Specialty  buyers  like  wholesale  buyers  are  also  visited  by 
salesmen  representing  many  different  firms,  each  seeking  busi¬ 
ness.  Experience  has  taught  them  that  among  the  many  offers 
they  receive  few  are  worth  investigation;  so,  like  wholesale 
buyers,  they  are  reserved,  cautious,  on  the  defensive,  and  not 
inclined  to  give  encouragement  until  they  are  sure  of  their 
ground  for  they  know  that  a  salesman  who  has  been  en¬ 
couraged  is  difficult  to  dismiss. 

Class  B.  Buyers  belonging  to  this  class  as  a  rule  have  no 
previous  interest  in  the  article  offered.  The  salesman  offering 
a  set  of  books,  a  new  office  appliance,  an  insurance  policy,  finds 
a  wall  of  indifference  facing  him.  His  prospects  as  a  rule 
have  felt  no  need  for  his  goods  and  are  getting  along  well 
enough  without  them.  There  is  neither  general  interest  in 


42 


PRINCIPLES  OF  SALESMANSHIP 


the  article  nor  curiosity  to  inspect  it.  The  business  man  ap¬ 
proached  by  the  insurance  salesman  or  the  book  agent  is  apt 
to  be  even  antagonistic.  Until  he  begins  to  realize  something 
of  the  benefits  of  insurance  his  inclination  is  to  say  abruptly  to 
the  salesman,  “No  thank  you,  I  am  not  interested.”  The 
salesman’s  first  task  is  to  break  down  this  indifference,  which 
in  some  cases  amounts  to  a  genuine,  if  latent,  opposition. 

The  Salesman’s  Attitude  Toward  Specialty  Buyers, 
Class  A. — There  is  no  royal  road  to  the  favor  of  the  specialty 
buyer.  Persistence  and  tact  are  necessary  in  winning  an  inter¬ 
view  and  permission  to  explain  the  merits  of  one’s  goods. 
The  salesman  will,  of  course,  try  to  make  a  sale  on  his  first 
visit;  but  even  if  he  does  not  succeed,  he  must  visit  the  buyer 
on  each  trip.  After  he  has  called  a  number  of  times  he  will 
probably  succeed  in  establishing  that  feeling  of  friendliness 
which  is  a  useful  preliminary  to  a  sale. 

Like  the  wholesale  salesman  who  calls  infrequently,  the 
specialty  salesman  is  justified  in  being  insistent,  not  to  say 
aggressive,  because  his  visit  then  assumes  a  certain  importance 
in  the  buyer’s  eyes.  He  may  make  his  long  trip  an  excuse  for 
persisting  in  the  attempt  to  obtain  an  immediate  interview. 
When  he  has  gained  the  interview  he  is  justified  in  asking  for 
an  immediate  decision  for  or  against  his  offer.  On  both  sides 
it  is  recognized  that  as  he  calls  only  once  in  several  months 
his  visit  is  relatively  more  important  than  that  of  the  man 
who  can  drop  in  every  week  or  two.  Such  a  visit  deserves 
greater  consideration  on  the  part  of  the  buyer  and  calls  for 
more  energy  on  the  part  of  the  salesman. 

The  Salesman’s  Attitude  Toward  Specialty  Buyers, 
Class  B. — The  specialty  salesman  catering  to  this  class  has 
even  more  inertia  to  overcome.  He  knows  that  the  buyer 
has  no  general  interest  in  the  product  predisposing  him  to  in- 


ATTITUDES  OF  BUYER  AND  SALESMAN 


43 


vestigate  the  salesman’s  claims.  Selling  to  the  specialty  buyer 
who  is  ignorant  of  his  offer  requires  courage  and  perseverance 
in  a  high  degree.  The  salesman  must  not  accept  “No”  too 
easily.  His  manner  must  be  sincere  and  enthusiastically 
earnest.  He  must  be  primed  with  arguments  to  appeal  to 
many  varied  motives  and  temperaments.  He  must  use  every 
energy  in  gaining  the  buyer’s  interest  at  the  opening  of  the 
interview  and  his  enthusiasm  must  be  great  enough  to  secure 
and  hold  attention  while  arguing  in  favor  of  his  goods. 

The  Retail  Buyer. — In  retail  sales  the  purchase  is  made 
for  consumption,  as  in  specialty  sales,  but  the  customer  in  this 
case  visits  the  salesman.  Since  he  is  already  in  the  buying 
mood,  the  task  of  the  retail  salesman  is  markedly  different 
from  that  of  the  wholesale  or  specialty  salesman.  This  diver¬ 
gence  is  so  fundamental  that  it  requires  special  consideration 
and  is  accordingly  dealt  with  separately  in  a  later  chapter. 

Summary  of  the  General  Attitude  of  the  Salesman. — In 

all  three  cases  one  paramount  rule  holds  true;  for  inasmuch 
as  the  salesman  has  to  take  the  customer  over  one  or  more 
stages  of  the  mental  journey  to  the  act  of  buying,  the  salesman 
must  always  ascertain  first  and  foremost  the  prospect’s  attitude 
toward  buying  his  offering.  This  state  or  stage  determined, 
the  next  step  is  that  of  starting  the  prospect  on  the  journey. 
In  other  words,  at  this  point  the  more  active  phase  of  selling 
begins. 


CHAPTER  V 


THE  PREPARATION  OF  THE  SELLING  TALK 

Analysis  of  the  Talking  Point. — To  build  up  a  logical 
argument  that  will  make  the  most  powerful  appeal,  the  nature 
of  the  offer,  whether  of  goods  or  of  service,  must  first  be 
analyzed.  This  analysis  will  reveal  those  special  features — 
often  called  “talking  points”  or  “points  of  contact” — which 
can  be  elaborated  so  as  to  appeal  to  as  many  and  as  varied 
buying  motives  as  possible.  Everything  salable  has  these 
talking  points,  otherwise  it  is  so  obviously  inferior  a  product 
that  it  is  unworthy  of  a  salesman’s  attention.  These  various 
talking  points  have  to  be  woven  into  a  fluent  sales  talk  which 
is  readily  adaptable  to  any  situation  and  to  any  type  of  buyer. 

Each  talking  point  must  be  made  to  appeal  to  one  or  more 
definite  buying  motives.  The  salesman  marshals  these  talking 
points  and  presents  them  in  such  a  way  as  to  make  them  strike 
the  imagination  of  the  buyer — and  stick  in  his  mind. 

An  intricate,  expensive,  and  complicated  article  has  ob¬ 
viously  a  large  number  of  talking  points.  A  plain  and  simply 
constructed  article  in  every-day  use  may  seem  to  have  few. 
Analysis,  however,  will  reveal  that  much  can  be  said  about 
anything  that  is  worth  offering  for  sale,  and  still  more  about 
the  advantages  of  any  offer  to  a  particular  buyer.  The  sales¬ 
man’s  problem  lies  mainly  in  rejecting  points  which  are  insig¬ 
nificant.  Yet  even  points  of  quite  secondary  importance  should 
be  studied  and  elaborated  into  arguments,  as  these  may  prove 
efficacious  when  other  and  apparently  stronger  talking  points 
fail  of  effect. 


44 


PREPARATION  OF  THE  SELLING  TALK 


45 


Constructing  the  Sales  Arguments  for  a  Wholesale 
Sale. — Let  us  take  as  our  first  example  for  analysis  that  prosaic 
every-day  article,  a  loaf  of  bread.  One  loaf  of  bread  looks 
much  like  another.  In  price,  shape,  appearance,  and  ingredi¬ 
ents  it  is  practically  the  same  as  other  loaves.  Still,  if  a  firm 
bakes  bread  in  sufficient  quantity  to  warrant  the  employment 
of  salesmen,  there  must  be  something  notable  about  its  loaves. 

Let  us  presume  that  the  bread  to  be  analyzed  is  a  special 
advertised  brand  called  White’s  Cream  Bread,  retailing  at  the 
usual  price.  In  the  sale  of  such  a  product  as  bread  there  is 
no  sales  argument  that  competing  firms  cannot  use.  Neverthe¬ 
less,  the  salesman  must  prepare  a  list  of  talking  points  whether 
or  not  these  are  used  by  competitors,  as  the  arguments  may 
not  be  known  to  his  customers.  Facts  which  seem  entirely 
obvious  and  commonplace  to  one  person  are  very  often  new 
and  interesting  to  another. 

The  prospect  in  the  case  in  point  is  probably  a  retail  grocer 
who  buys  for  resale.  Therefore  the  talking  points  that  will 
appeal  to  him  must  first  of  all  be  based  on  his  desire  for  gain. 
A  list  of  these  is : 

Profit 

Demand 

Price 

Terms 

Service 

Other  motives  for  buying  that  might  be  appealed  to  in  a 
less  degree  are  imitation,  or  rivalry,  caution,  and,  of  course, 
friendliness. 

A  prospect  will  probably  be  influenced  in  placing  an  order 
if  the  fact  is  brought  to  his  attention  that  competing  grocers 
also  buy  the  bread.  If  the  bakery  enjoys  an  established  reputa¬ 
tion  his  caution  will  be  appealed  to  by  emphasizing  the  fact 
that  the  bread  is  furnished  by  a  reputable  and  well-known 
house.  ‘ 


46 


PRINCIPLES  OF  SALESMANSHIP 


The  grocer  will  also  want  to  know  something  about  the 
processes  of  manufacture  so  that  he  can  explain  why  he  par¬ 
ticularly  recommends  White’s  Cream  Bread.  He  knows  that 
if  he  can  give  the  consumer  good  reasons  for  buying,  his  sales 
will  increase.  And  so  other  obvious  talking  points  will  be: 

Ingredients 

Nourishment 

Palatability 

Purity 

We  will  now  build  up  these  talking  points  into  arguments 
which  may  serve  as  “points  of  contact”  with  the  grocer,  bear¬ 
ing  in  mind  that  these  little  talks  merely  illustrate  the  sales¬ 
man’s  complete  equipment,  from  which  he  selects  only  those 
arguments  that  occasion  demands  or  that  he  believes  will  make 
the  strongest  appeal. 

The  Appeal  to  Profit. — The  argument  appealing  to  the 
dominant  motive  of  profit  might  be  elaborated  in  this  way : 

Your  bread  business,  Mr.  Jones,  should  be  one  of  the  most 
important  departments  of  your  store.  If  it  isn’t  it  can  be 
made  the  most  important  for  these  reasons : 

First,  you  may  not  realize  that  on  every  dollar’s  worth 
of  bread  you  buy  daily  you  make  an  actual  profit  of  $62.40 
a  year.  Just  figure  it  out.  A  dollar’s  worth  of  bread  at  10 
cents  a  loaf  means  ten  loaves.  On  ten  loaves  you  are  making 
a  profit  of  20  cents  a  day,  or  nearly  $1.20  a  week,  which  is 
$62.40  a  year.  As  you  do  not  pay  for  the  bread  until  it  is  sold 
you  invest  no  money  in  producing  this  revenue. 

Second,  customers  who  buy  bread  come  into  daily  contact 
with  your  store.  This  is  valuable  because  those  who  now 
come  into  the  store  only  occasionally,  when  they  buy  bread 
from  you,  will  get  into  the  habit  of  visiting  your  store  reg¬ 
ularly.  Bread,  like  milk,  is  a  household  commodity  that  the 
consumer  must  order  daily.  Therefore,  to  handle  a  well- 
known  reliable  brand  such  as  ours  must  increase  your  business 
by  creating  more  regular  customers  for  other  things  besides 
bread. 


PREPARATION  OF  THE  SELLING  TALK 


47 


Suppose,  for  example,  the  housewife  who  trades  with  you 
runs  out  of  potatoes.  She  thinks  she  will  get  along  without 
them  for  the  day.  She  finds,  however,  that  she  is  running 
short  of  bread  and  she  needs  another  loaf.  Consequently, 
she  rings  you  up  on  the  phone  or  sends  a  messenger  or  calls 
herself  to  ask  you  to  deliver  a  peck  of  potatoes,  perhaps  some 
breakfast  cereal,  maybe  some  coffee  or  tea,  together  with  the 
loaf  of  bread  she  needs.  Bread  may  thus  bring  far  more 
profit  into  your  store  than  you  get  from  its  sale.  Yet,  a^ 
before  explained,  you  can  make  as  much  as  $62.40  a  year 
on  every  dollar’s  worth  you  buy  day  by  day  without  the  invest¬ 
ment  of  a  single  cent  on  your  part.  You  see  the  importance 
of  handling  bread  and  especially  such  a  line  as  White’s 
Cream  Bread,  which,  once  tried,  is  invariably  used  again 
and  again. 

Demand. — The  argument  as  to  demand  naturally  follows 
that  of  profit.  Here  the  emphasis  can  be  laid  on  the  fact  that 
to  refuse  to  handle  a  brand  of  bread  for  which  a  demand  has 
been  created  is  to  refuse  business : 

The  sale  of  White’s  Cream  Bread  is  so  great  that  people 
of  this  community  expect  almost  every  grocer  to  keep  it. 

The  grocer  who  does  not  is  refusing  business.  You  see,  Mr. 
Jones,  we  have  been  advertising  this  bread  since  1875  and  dur¬ 
ing  more  than  forty  years’  experience  as  bakers  we  have 
built  up  such  a  reputation  for  quality  that  many  people  insist 
upon  having  our  bread  and  no  other.  We  sell  2,000  loaves 
a  day  right  in  this  section  of  the  town,  and  that  means  a  loaf 
every  day  to  every  second  family.  Many  customers  who  now 
and  then  come  into  your  store  insist  upon  White’s  Bread 
and  no  other.  If  you  don’t  keep  it,  you  simply  turn  away 
business  in  many  other  lines. 

Price. — Price  in  its  relation  to  profit  has  been  already 
covered.  However,  the  dealer  may  be  thinking  that  he  can 
make  more  profit  by  selling  a  cheaper  brand  of  bread.  The 
following  argument  meets  this  objection  before  it  is  mad*  * 


48 


PRINCIPLES  OF  SALESMANSHIP 


The  price  is  io  cents  a  loaf — the  usual  price  of  bread  sold 
at  wholesale.  We  cannot  offer  you  any  special  inducement 
as  to  price.  We  don’t  think  it  is  a  good  thing  to  do  so.  A 
firm  that  offers  to  sell  you  a  loaf  of  bread  for  7  or  8  cents 
is  going  to  injure  your  business.  A  loaf  of  bread  of  the 
quality  of  ours  cannot  be  made  and  sold  for  a  profit  at  less 
than  10  cents.  A  loaf  at  a  lower  price  simply  means  cheaper 
ingredients;  it  lacks  the  palatability  of  our  bread;  it  fails  to 
please  customers ;  and  in  the  end  you  lose  more  than  you  might 
gain  through  the  extra  cent  or  two  profit  on  each  loaf  sold. 

Terms. — The  terms  are  another  aspect  of  price  which  can 
be  set  forth  so  as  to  appeal  to  the  motive  of  gain : 

You  make  a  settlement  of  our  account  once  a  week.  You 
will  have  sold  from  7  to  10  days’  supply  of  bread  before  you 
are  asked  to  pay  for  it.  Suppose  you  sell  50  loaves  of  bread 
a  day  (and  many  of  our  customers  sell  a  100),  that  means 
$6.00  a  day  income,  or  roughly  $36.00  in  hand  before  you 
are  asked  to  settle  your  account.  Thus  instead  of  investing 
any  money  in  stocking  our  goods,  we  really  advance  you 
money  with  which  to  carry  on  your  business  for  brief  periods. 

Service. — Here  the  emphasis  can  be  laid  on  the  means  by 
which  the  firm  helps  the  dealer  sell  the  goods — and  thus  make 
more  profit : 

We  make  two  deliveries  every  day — one  early  in  the  morn¬ 
ing  and  the  other  at  noon.  If  you  wish,  we  shall  be  glad  to 
supply  you  with  a  case  in  which  to  store  the  bread — an 
attractive  piece  of  store  equipment  that  you  will  be  glad  to 
have  standing  on  your  counter. 

As  you  have  not  yet  handled  our  line,  we  shall  be  glad  to 
help  you  create  a  demand  for  it.  If  you  will  give  us  the 
names  of  your  customers  we  will  send  our  advertising  postal 
cards,  each  one  good  for  a  loaf  of  our  bread  at  your  store. 

We  redeem  these  postal  cards  from  you  at  the  regular  selling 
price  of  12  cents  each.  This  is  a  special  advertising  plan 
which  none  of  our  competitors  offer.  Experience  has  proved 
that  it  will  always  start  sales  and  incidentally  will  bring  many 


PREPARATION  OF  THE  SELLING  TALK 


49 


new  customers  into  your  store.  We  will  also,  if  you  wish, 
supply  you  with  a  list  of  high-class  people  in  your  district. 

Reputation. — The  dealer  is  interested  in  the  bread’s  repu¬ 
tation  only  so  far  as  this  helps  to  sell  more  bread.  Therefore 
the  argument  takes  the  following  form : 

So  far,  Mr.  Jones,  we  have  considered  only  the  profit  on 
the  sale  of  our  bread.  Now  let  us  consider  in  how  many  ways 
our  bread  will  appeal  to  the  consumer  who  comes  into  your 
store  to  ask  for  it  because  she  knows  and  likes  our  brand;  or 
who,  having  once  tried  our  brand  for  the  same  reason,  will 
buy  it  again  and  again. 

Our  concern  was  founded  in  1875  by  the  father  of  the 
present  managing  director.  His  idea  was  to  bake  the  best 
bread  that  could  possibly  be  baked  at  the  price.  That  idea  has 
been  lived  up  to  for  more  than  forty  years.  We  have  custom¬ 
ers  of  forty  years’  standing  on  our  books.  We  hold  them 
because  we  satisfy  them,  etc.,  etc. 

Ingredients. — The  eloquence  of  the  salesman  when  describ¬ 
ing  the  product  in  detail  need  be  limited  only  by  the  patience  of 
the  listener : 

In  the  manufacture  of  White’s  Cream  Bread  the  several 
thousand  quarts  of  milk  that  are  used  daily  are  supplied  from 
our  own  farm  in  order  to  insure  milk  with  the  real,  creamy 
flavor.  Our  cows  are  pasture-fed  when  the  grass  is  green 
and  growing,  and  in  winter  they  are  housed  in  dairies  which 
are  bright  and  sanitary  as  a  new  pin.  Consequently,  the  milk 
that  goes  into  this  bread  is  milk  of  the  purest  quality,  un¬ 
skimmed,  rich,  creamy,  with  a  high  percentage  of  butter  fat. 

To  let  you  into  a  trade  secret,  Mr.  Jones,  it  is  the  use  of  milk 
of  superior  quality  that  is  largely  the  secret  of  finely  flavoured 
bread. 

As  regards  the  flour  that  goes  into  this  bread,  we  cannot 
control  it  quite  to  the  extent  that  we  control  the  milk  supply. 

We  do,  however,  buy  only  high-grade  standard  brands  that 
have  a  reputation  behind  them  for  quality  and  in  this  way 
we  maintain  our  own  reputation. 


50 


PRINCIPLES  OF  SALESMANSHIP 


Palatability. — 

The  ingredients  put  into  our  bread  make  it  more  pleasing 
to  the  taste  than  any  other  brand  which  does  not  enjoy  the 
same  advantage  in  its  source  of  supply.  You  can  sell  a 
limited  amount  of  bread  or  any  other  food  by  advertising; 
but  what  sells  food  in  the  largest  quantity  in  the  long  run  is 
the  satisfied  palates  of  those  who  eat  it.  We  believe  our  bread 
pleases  the  palate  as  much  as  any  bread  can.  Just  try  our 
brand  yourself,  Mr.  Jones,  and  see  if  you  don’t  agree  with 
me  .... 

Every  Proposition  Has  Its  Talking  Points _ Enough, 

perhaps,  has  been  written  about  this  special  brand  of  bread. 
The  reader  may  object  that  the  article  chosen  for  analysis  is  a 
standard  article  with  a  history  and  a  reputation  behind  it  and 
with  unusual  advantages  in  the  way  of  service  attached  to  it, 
and  that  therefore  it  is  easily  possible  to  build  up  a  convincing 
sales  talk.  But  what  has  been  said  in  this  case  applies  in  broad 
outline  to  all  other  brands  of  bread.  The  point  is  that  even 
if  you  take  such  an  apparently  commonplace  article  as  bread, 
which  has  no  beauty  or  charm,  nor  much  that  can  be  claimed 
for  it  on  the  score  of  palatability  or  even  profit,  it  is  still  quite 
possible  to  make  out  a  strong  selling  case. 

It  rests  with  the  salesman  and  his  department  head  to 
analyze  the  offer  he  is  presenting  and  ascertain  its  talking 
points.  On  this  framework  he  then  constructs  those  arguments 
which  will  appeal  to  every  type  of  customer  and  to  almost  every 
buying  motive. 

The  Talking  Points  of  a  Specialty. — If  so  much  can  be 

said  about  such  an  article  as  bread,  how  much  more  interesting 
must  be  the  arguments  in  favor  of  a  specialty  of  any  kind. 
A  salesman  handling  a  specialty  at  a  fairly  high  price  will 
rarely  need  to  construct  his  own  selling  talk.  The  general 
practice  among  firms  of  any  standing  is  to  train  their  represen- 


BOSTON  COLLEGE  SCHOOL 
tHUS!NE5S  AOMIN. 


PREPARATION  OF  THE  SELLING  TALK 


51 


tatives  in  the  art  of  demonstrating  the  product  before  sending 
them  on  the  road.  Some  houses  maintain  special  training 
schools  and  publish  sales  manuals  and  other  literature  in  which 
the  summarized  experience  of  the  sales  force  is  presented  for 
the  benefit  of  the  beginners;  these  manuals  embody  the  ex¬ 
perience  of  hundreds  of  men  in  tackling  a  special  sales  problem. 
Certain  methods  have  been  found  to  bring  better  and  quicker 
results  than  others  and  these  the  salesman  is  expected  to  study 
and  apply.  Manifestly  each  salesman  will  modify  and  adjust 
his  instructions  and  his  material  to  his  own  personality.  To 
neglect  such  adjustment  is  to  invite  mediocrity,  if  not  absolute 
failure. 

The  elaboration  of  the  talking  points  of  such  an  article  as 
a  printing  press,  an  adding  machine,  or  an  automobile,  would 
occupy  many  pages  of  this  volume.  To  illustrate  the  point 
that  there  is  never  any  dearth  of  facts  that  can  be  elaborated 
in  this  way,  consider  the  service  offered  by  a  laundry.  A 
laundry  sells  only  service,  and  a  service  of  any  kind  is  classed 
among  specialties.  We  will  suppose  that  Green’s  Laundry 
offers  its  services  at  prevailing  rates  and  that  it  is  much  like 
any  other  laundry.  In  the  sale  of  service,  the  motive  to  appeal 
to  is  satisfaction;  in  such  a  competitive  field  as  the  laundry 
business  the  arguments  in  favor  of  one  laundry  over  another 
will  finally  hinge  upon  satisfaction  in  proportion  to  the  price 
paid. 

Some  of  the  talking  points  that  appeal  to  this  motive  are 
listed  below.  Every  laundry  offers  most  of  these  services  but 
not  necessarily  in  the  same  degree  or  the  same  proportion : 

Individual  attention 

Starching  to  individual  taste 

Dating 

Packing 

Repairing 

Delivery 


52 


PRINCIPLES  OF  SALESMANSHIP 


Dependability 

Security  from  tearing,  shrinking,  or  fading 

Liberal  adjustment 

Sanitation 

Thoroughness 

It  is  not  necessary  here  to  take  up  space  in  elaborating 
each  of  these  talking  points  into  appeals  to  the  motives  of 
satisfaction,  pride,  caution,  and  so  on.  After  the  salesman 
has  ascertained  his  talking  points  and  decided  on  the  motives 
to  appeal  to,  he  should  have  little  difficulty  in  constructing  suit¬ 
able  sales  arguments.  Of  course,  thoughtful  and  patient  effort 
is  involved  in  preparing  these. 

Analysis  of  Goods  Not  Needed  for  a  Retail  Sale. — The 

refinement  of  analysis  so  frequently  necessary  before  a  con¬ 
vincing  sales  talk  can  be  built  up  for  either  a  wholesale  or  a 
specialty  sale  would  for  the  most  part  be  out  of  place  in  a 
retail  sale.  The  retail  salesman  should  know  the  facts  as  to 
quality.  If,  for  instance,  he  is  selling  fabrics,  carpets,  tools, 
or  anything  in  which  wearing  quality  is  an  important  factor, 
he  should  study  his  goods  sufficiently  to  be  able  to  explain  to 
the  customer  wherein  lies  the  value  of  the  thing  under  inspec¬ 
tion.  When  wearing  qualities  count  for  less  in  determining 
the  purchase  than  looks,  style,  or  palatability,  desire  can  be 
aroused  by  appealing  to  pleasure,  or  to  pride  and  satisfaction. 
Instead  of  a  minute  knowledge  of  a  particular  line,  the  retail 
salesperson  requires  a  general  all-round  knowledge  of  his  stock. 
And  his  knowledge  should  cover  each  point  that  customers 
are  likely  to  be  interested  in.  The  distinguishing  character¬ 
istics  of  quality,  design,  source,  mode  of  manufacture,  and 

the  like,  are  valuable  if  not  essential  in  retail  selling. 

% 

Method  of  Learning  Arguments. — After  deciding  what 
to  say  and  in  how  many  different  ways  to  say  it,  the  salesman 
should  write  each  talking  point  on  a  separate  card  and  on  the 


PREPARATION  OF  THE  SELLING  TALK 


53 


reverse  side  the  appropriate  sales  argument  and  the  buying 
motive  to  which  appeal  is  made.  Then,  by  shuffling  the  cards 
and  referring  to  the  face  of  the  first  one  and  then  another  for 
its  talking  point,  he  can  practice  the  delivery  of  his  arguments 
until  he  is  approximately  “word  perfect,”  prompting  himself 
when  need  arises  by  reference  to  the  back  of  the  card. 

Many  helpful  suggestions  for  the  construction  of  effective 
sales  arguments  will  be  found  in  various  chapters  of  this  work. 
Meanwhile  much  emphasis  can  profitably  be  laid  upon  the  im¬ 
portance  of  .this  drill.  The  salesman  must  first  carefully  think 
over  what  he  is  going  to  say  and  how  his  appeal  can  be  most 
effectively  worded.  He  must  then  so  drill  himself  in  every 
point  that  he  is  able  to  explain  the  merits  of  his  offer  clearly 
and  fluently — and  above  all  things,  in  the  most  convincing 
manner. 

During  the  course  of  every  interview  he  will  find  various 
objections  raised  to  making  the  purchase.  The  salesman  must 
consequently  forecast  objections  as  well  as  prepare  a  thorough 
set  of  sales  arguments,  if  he  is  to  meet  the  buyer  adequately 
equipped  and  armed  at  every  point.  The  methods  of  handling 
objections  are  so  important  that  they  are  treated  at  length  later 
in  this  volume.  For  the  present  the  student  need  only  bear 
in  mind  the  general  nature  of  this  problem. 

Advantages  of  Learning  Arguments  Verbatim. — The 

salesman  who  fails  to  learn  his  arguments  verbatim  is  obliged 
while  talking  to  concentrate  his  thought  upon  what  he  is  going 
to  say  next.  If  the  talking  points  and  the  phraseology  in 
which  they  are  expressed  are  fully  and  firmly  fixed  in  his  mind, 
he  can  present  them  like  the  finished  actor  who  has  learned  his 
part — naturally  and  without  effort.  He  can  then  give  close 
attention  to  the  prospect’s  views  and  be  ready  to  take  advan¬ 
tage  of  every  opening  that  will  permit  an  effective  reply  to 
a  question  or  an  objection. 

If  the  salesman  thoroughly  masters  and  memorizes  his 


54 


PRINCIPLES  OF  SALESMANSHIP 


argument  in  its  numerous  phases,  there  will  be  no  danger  of 
repeating  the  argument  as  if  by  rote  in  half-hearted  fashion, 
and  still  less  of  stuttering  and  stumbling.  He  need  never  be 
at  a  loss  for  power  of  expression  or  a  ready  reply.  And 
naturally  the  phrasing  must  be  adapted  to  an  easy,  conversa¬ 
tional  style,  avoiding  lengthy  or  clumsy  sentences  or  any  affec¬ 
tation. 

Nothing  impresses  a  prospective  buyer  more  than  for  a 
salesman  to  state  his  case  in  crisp  and  logical  phraseology  and 
meet  every  question  and  every  objection  courteously  and  de¬ 
cisively.  On  the  other  hand,  little  does  so  much  to  create  dis¬ 
trust  as  inability  either  to  explain  the  merits  of  an  offer  logically 
and  readily  or  to  meet  an  objection  when  raised. 

To  repeat,  the  salesman  who  takes  his  work  earnestly  and 
seriously  will  never  trust  to  a  fluent  and  ready  tongue  for 
the  construction  of  his  argument.  Many  a  glib  talker  who 
admires  his  own  verbosity  only  irritates  the  buyer  because  he 
fails  to  present  his  argument  clearly ,  persuasively,  and  logically. 
Clear,  persuasive,  and  logical  presentation  requires  it  be  put 
down  in  black  and  white  and  closely  studied.  The  salesman 
must  use  his  own  phraseology  in  preparing  his  arguments,  even 
though  his  firm  provides  him  with  such  material.  Unless  he 
memorizes  talking  points  written  in  language  that  he  continu¬ 
ally  uses,  his  presentation  of  them  will  sound  forced,  unnatural, 
and  at  variance  with  his  general  style  of  expression. 

A  sales  talk  does  not  consist  of  a  mere  description  of  what 
the  salesman  has  to  offer  the  customer  or  what  the  thing  offered 
will  do  for  the  customer.  A  convincing  argument  is  a  com¬ 
posite  appeal  to  the  buying  motive  which  is  strongest  in  a 
particular  case;  to  the  temperament  of  the  customer;  and  to 
the  general  attitude  of  the  customer  toward  the  salesman.  This 
argument,  as  explained  in  the  preceding  chapter,  is  to  be  so 
modified  that  insensibly  it  attracts  attention,  rouses  interest, 
and  from  interest  leads  to  desire  and  action. 


CHAPTER  VI 


THE  GENERALSHIP  OF  THE  PREAPPROACH 

The  Value  of  a  Few  Definite  Facts  about  the  Prospect _ 

Two  life  insurance  salesmen  representing  different  companies 
called  upon  the  head  of  a  large  brokerage  house.  Atkins  knew 
nothing  more  than  that  the  prospect  was  a  cautious,  successful 
business  man  with  a  reputation  for  driving  a  hard  bargain. 
So  he  emphasized  the  advantages  of  insurance  from  the  view¬ 
point  of  safety  and  business  protection  and  he  laid  stress  upon 
the  financial  strength  of  his  company.  His  appeal  was  made 
wholly  to  business  acumen.  While  the  prospect  seemed  in¬ 
terested,  no  decision  was  reached. 

Thomas,  his  competitor,  before  calling  on  the  broker  made 
a  few  inquiries  about  him.  In  addition  to  the  information 
possessed  by  Atkins,  he  ascertained  that  the  prospect  was  a 
martinet  in  business  and  also  in  his  home.  The  only  person 
before  whom  his  severity  ever  relaxed  was  a  crippled  daughter 
on  whom  he  lavished  all  his  affection.  He  seldom  mentioned 
her  and  few  people  knew  of  her.  Thomas  discovered  this 
fact  through  a  friend  who  was  a  member  of  a  club  to  which 
the  broker  belonged. 

When  Thomas  opened  his  interview  he  outlined  the  ad¬ 
vantages  of  his  offer  as  briefly  as  possible  and  then  “felt”  for 
a  decision.  As  he  expected,  this  was  in  the  negative.  He 
continued : 

Mr.  Blank,  you  are  a  successful  business  man.  You  have 
a  justly  earned  reputation  as  a  shrewd  investor.  You  can 
place  your  money  to  much  better  advantage  than  the  majority 

55 


56 


PRINCIPLES  OF  SALESMANSHIP 


of  business  men.  But  your  capital,  or  most  of  it,  is  at  present 
tied  up  in  industries  which  may  ornnay  not  prove  prosperous 
in  years  to  come.  The  normal  course  in  most  businesses  is 
growth  and  expansion  followed  by  a  decline  and  in  many  cases 
failure.  If  you  should  die  or  have  a  serious  breakdown — and 
these  are  possibilities  you  must  contemplate — your  genius  for 
investing  ceases.  Your  present  investments  may  not  prove  so 
profitable  in  the  future  as  they  are  now.  If  others  had  charge 
of  the  investing  of  your  money  they  might  lose  it,  and  if  they 
did  your  family  would  suffer. 

Now  think  of  the  future,  say,  of  your  daughter,  under 
these  circumstances.  She  might  be  compelled  to  live  under 
conditions  which  compared  with  her  present  position  would 
be  almost  proverty.  Deprived  of  the  comforts  she  is  ac¬ 
customed  to,  it  would  be  doubly  hard  for  her.  You  are  entitled 
to  take  chances  in  your  own  business  but  ought  you  to  make 
those  dependent  upon  you  share  the  risks  which  you  as  a  busi¬ 
ness  man  incur  ?  An  annuity  such  as  I  have  suggested  would 
lift  your  daughter  above  any  future  possibility  of  want 

The  appeal  here  was  made  first  to  pride,  the  suggestion 
being  that  few  equaled  the  broker  in  his  genius  for  investing 
money;  and  second  to  parental  affection — but  in  a  brief  and 
businesslike  way  to  appeal  to  the  broker’s  temperament.  The 
offer  immediately  took  on  another  aspect  in  his  eyes  and  a  sale 
eventually  followed. 

How  the  Specialty  Salesman  Makes  a  Preapproach. — 

This  sale  illustrates  the  value  of  the  preapproach — the  purpose 
of  which  is  to  ascertain  something  of  vital  interest  to  the 
prospect  and  then  connect  the  selling  arguments  thereto.  Its 
importance  is  well  illustrated  by  the  methods  of  specialty 
salesmen. 

Before  a  cash  register  salesman  tries  to  sell  a  machine  he 
carefully  inspects  his  ground.  He  enters  the  store  of  an  un¬ 
known  prospect — let  us  say,  a  grocer — at  a  busy  period  of  the 
day  when  several  customers  are  waiting  to  be  served.  He 


THE  GENERALSHIP  OF  PREAPPROACH 


57 


then  makes  a  trifling  purchase  which  necessitates  the  giving 
of  change,  so  that  he  can  study  the  cash  system  in  vogue.  He 
notes  the  kind  of  cash  drawer  used  and  the  method  of  handling 
the  sale.  If  an  old-fashioned  till  is  in  use  he  recognizes  a 
good  starting  point  for  his  sales  argument.  If  possible  he 
enters  into  conversation  with  the  clerk.  From  the  baskets  on 
the  floor  he  ascertains  how  the  merchant  delivers  the  goods 
and  from  the  bills  in  the  baskets  the  method  of  handling  charge 
transactions.  From  the  fixtures  and  showcases  he  notes 
whether  or  not  the  business  is  progressive.  From  the  kind  of 
scales  used  he  judges  whether  the  retailer  is  a  believer  in  modern 
improvements;  from  his  store  windows  whether  he  is  smart 
enough  to  take  advantage  of  advertising  space;  from  the  gen¬ 
eral  appearance  of  the  store  and  the  clerks  whether  he  is  a 
believer  in  neatness  and  discipline. 

Armed  with  this  information  the  salesman  is  in  the  posi¬ 
tion  of  a  lawyer  who  prepares  his  brief  before  the  case  is 
tried.  He  is  fully  equipped  to  point  out  the  weakness  of  the 
store’s  present  system — and  his  knowledge  is  based  not  on  sur¬ 
mise  but  on  the  facts  of  existing  conditions.  The  influence  of 
an  argument  based  on  fact  is  far,  far  greater  than  one  depend¬ 
ent  on  guesses  or  random  assertions. 

Thus  the  advantages  of  using  an  up-to-date  register  which 
is  adapted  to  the  special  needs  of  a  particular  store,  can  be 
pointed  out  much  more  logically  and  clearly  than  would  be 
possible  without  the  knowledge  gained  by  the  preapproach. 

The  Strategical  Character  of  the  Preapproach. — The  pre¬ 
approach,  especially  if  the  sale  relates  to  a  high-priced  specialty, 
may  be  likened  to  the  policy  of  the  general  who  never  enters 
into  battle  until  he  is  fully  prepared.  Long  before  the  clash 
takes  place  he  studies  the  ground — its  topography,  its  defences, 
its  strong  and  weak  places;  he  gathers  all  possible  information 
concerning  the  enemy — his  whereabouts,  his  strength,  the  dis- 


58 


PRINCIPLES  OF  SALESMANSHIP 


position  of  his  forces.  He  determines  the  base  from  which 
he  will  operate,  the  objective  to  be  won,  and  the  line  along 
which  he  will  conduct  his  operations;  then  he  fixes  on  a  de¬ 
finite  and  detailed  plan  of  action. 

Like  preparation  furnishes  the  salesman  with  valuable  in¬ 
formation  that,  if  tactfully  used,  will  give  him  the  advantage 
of  choosing  his  ground  and  the  point  of  his  attack.  A  sales¬ 
man  who  ascertains  the  weak  places  in  a  customer’s  defence 
knows  both  the  arguments  which  will  be  most  effective  and 
whether  any  objections  to  the  purchase  are  real  or  merely 
excuses.  Meeting  the  objection,  as  will  be  seen  later,  is  often 
half  the  battle  in  making  a  sale. 

Illustrations  of  the  Value  of  the  Preapproach _ A  suc¬ 

cessful  sewing-machine  salesman  knew  before  he  called  on  a 
certain  housewife  that  she  was  the  mother  of  a  family  of  five, 
that  her  husband  was  earning  $40  a  week,  that  she  was  clever 
with  her  needle,  and  that  much  of  the  sewing  was  done  in  the 
home  with  an  antiquated  and  out-of-date  hand-machine. 

“I  have  come  to  show  you  how  you  can  do  twice  the 
amount  of  sewing  you  now  do  without  tiring  your  arm,  Mrs. 
Smith,”  was  his  opening  remark. 

The  encyclopedia  salesman  ascertains  the  ages  and  traits 
of  the  children  in  the  home.  He  bases  his  appeal  on  the  fact 
than  an  encyclopedia  is  just  the  thing  for  children  of  more 
than  average  intelligence  and  will  be  of  invaluable  assistance 
to  them  in  acquiring  more  knowledge  than  the  average  child  and 
will  help  them  in  their  education  in  future  years.  He  demon¬ 
strates  the  value  of  the  work  in  following  up  a  hobby  or 
developing  budding  talent.  He  thus  appeals  to  parental  pride 
and  the  thirst  for  knowledge. 

Useful  Information  for  the  Retail  Salesman. — Retail  em¬ 
ployees  can  also  make  profitable  use  of  any  facts  or  in  forma- 


THE  GENERALSHIP  OF  PREAPPROACH 


59 


tion  about  their  customers;  these  may  be  picked  up  by  means 
of  gossip,  by  studying  the  local  papers,  or  by  keeping  the  ears 
alert  during  social  hours. 

A  retail  salesman  heard  that  a  certain  customer  who  came 
into  the  store  regularly  to  buy  a  daily  paper  and  an  occasional 
magazine  was  about  to  go  on  a  voyage  to  Europe.  When 
the  customer  next  visited  the  store  the  salesman  mentioned  how 
interested  he  was  to  hear  of  the  contemplated  trip.  The  con¬ 
versation  was  thus  led  to  the  unusual  sights  to  be  seen  in 
foreign  countries  where  interesting  and  peculiar  customs  and 
habits  prevail  and  casual  mention  made  of  the  fascination  of 
owning  a  good  camera  and  recording  these  novel  sights.  The 
suggestion  bore  fruit.  When  the  customer  left  on  his  voyage 
he  took  with  him  a  complete  photographic  outfit — purchased  at 
the  store  of  the  salesman  who  made  the  suggestion. 

Try  to  Find  Out  the  Customer’s  Name _ While  informa¬ 

tion  about  a  prospect’s  needs  and  his  likes  and  dislikes  is  the 
most  important  factor  to  be  secured  in  the  preapproach,  other 
details  are  worth  attention.  One  of  these  is  the  customer’s 
name.  To  know  its  correct  pronunciation  places  the  salesman 
in  an  advantageous  position.  .  To  address  somebody  by  name 
furnishes  a  point  of  contact,  even  though  a  slight  one,  and 
everyone  likes  to  hear  his  name  pronounced  correctly. 

The  foregoing  point  is  worth  bearing  in  mind  by  retail 
salespeople.  Customers  in  a  store  like  to  think  that  their 
patronage  is  appreciated.  When  they  are  addressed  by  name, 
it  signifies  a  desire  to  please  and  serve.  A  regular  customer 
takes  it  as  a  matter  of  course  to  be  addressed  by  name;  but  a 
person  who  is  so  addressed  on  the  second  visit  is  almost  sure 
to  feel  gratified  by  the  small  attention  and,  in  consequence, 
a  little  more  at  home  in  the  store.  To  make  customers  feel 
at  home  paves  the  way  for  the  repeat  order.  Therefore,  every 
retail  salesperson  should  make  a  point  of  memorizing  the  names 


6o 


PRINCIPLES  OF  SALESMANSHIP 


of  new  customers  so  that  they  can  be  addressed  by  name  when 
next  they  call. 

Even  when  selling  a  trifling  article  from  house  to  house 

the  specialty  salesman  makes  a  practice  of  asking  for  che 

name  of  the  family  living  next  door.  If  the  housewife  is 

particularly  obliging  he  may  request  and  note  the  names  of 

several  of  her  neighbors  so  that  if  he  is  refused  a  hearing 

« 

at  the  next  house  he  will  still  have  in  reserve  the  names  of 
other  prospects. 

Ascertain  the  Quantity  of  Goods  Used. — Useful  pre¬ 
liminary  information  for  the  wholesale  salesman  includes  the 
amount  of  goods  usually  ordered  in  a  given  case. 

Wholesale  houses  generally  prepare  these  figures  for  their 
representatives’  use,  but  for  obvious  reasons  they  are  not 
available  when  an  unknown  prospect  is  being  called  upon  for 
the  first  time.  A  cursory  inspection  of  the  buyer’s  shelves,  if 
he  is  a  retailer,  will  indicate  roughly  the  amount  of  stock 
carried  and  enable  the  salesman  to  estimate  the  quantity  that 
will  probably  be  ordered.  The  value  of  this  information  lies 
in  the  fact  that  it  enables  the  largest  reasonable  purchase  to  be 
suggested  without  incurring  the  risk  of  irritating  the  buyer  by 
suggesting  an  amount  far  beyond  his  needs  or  a  quantity  so 
small  as  to  offend  his  dignity. 

Where  the  Neglect  of  the  Preapproach  Proved  Fatal _ 

The  importance  of  the  foregoing  points  is  illustrated  by  the 
following  incident. 

A  young  salesman  representing  a  stove  house  was  visiting 
a  small  town  in  Montana.  The  general  store  of  the  community 
was  housed  in  a  rambling  building  and  filled  with  a  hetero 
geneous  stock  of  goods.  The  part  of  the  store  frequented  bj 
customers  was  much  like  any  other  general  store  and  did  not 
indicate  an  exceptional  turnover.  Its  owner  was  shabbily 
dressed  and  unkempt. 


THE  GENERALSHIP  OF  PREAPPROACH 


61 


Appearances  are  often  deceptive  and,  furthermore,  the 
same  importance  is  not  ascribed  to  neatness  and  up-to-date 
equipment  in  a  small  town  as  in  a  city.  This  storekeeper  was 
a  shrewd  buyer  with  a  keen  sense  of  humor.  A  favorite  query 
of  his  was  to  ask  an  unknown  salesman  what  quantity  of  goods 
the  latter  thought  he  ought  to  buy. 

When  this  particular  poser  was  put  to  the  salesman,  the 
young  man  first  glanced  around  the  store  to  size  up,  as  he 
thought,  the  situation.  After  a  moment’s  reflection  he  advised 
a  stock  of  not  more  than  twenty  stoves — a  dozen  low-priced 
numbers  and  an  assortment  of  the  higher-priced  ones. 

“Well,  my  trade  last  year  in  stoves  alone  was  well  over 
$10,000,”  replied  the  storekeeper  to  the  startled  salesman,  “but 
as  I  want  a  little  concrete  advice  as  to  what  stock  to  order  this 
year  and  as  I  can’t  build  up  my  business  by  guessing  or  trading 
with  guessers,  I’ll  wait  until  another  stove  salesman  comes 
around.”  With  this  the  interview  closed. 

After  the  crestfallen  salesman  had  withdrawn,  a  few  in¬ 
quiries  at  the  local  hotel  and  among  townspeople  elicited  the 
information  that  this  storekeeper  employed  a  dozen  teams  to 
distribute  his  goods;  that  he  handled  a  substantial  mail  order 
business  as  well;  and  that  his  yearly  sales  were  well  over  the 
quarter-million  dollar  mark.  A  cursory  preapproach  would 
have  told  the  salesman  that  the  buyer  was  one  of  the  most 
important  in  the  state. 

The  Preapproach  Essential  Before  Estimating. — In 

trades  and  businesses  which  render  a  service  for  which  esti¬ 
mates  are  frequently  submitted,  the  preapproach  is  a  useful 
means  of  finding  the  suitable  opening  wedge.  A  salesman  of 
printing,  for  instance,  need  never  be  at  a  loss  for  likely  custom¬ 
ers,  however  dull  trade  may  be.  Advertisers  especially  are 
large  users  of  printed  matter  and  their  material  is  distributed 
free  to  all  who  ask  for  it.  The  salesman  who  keeps  his  eyes 
open  for  publishers,  or  users  of  the  kind  of  printing  for  which 


62 


PRINCIPLES  OF  SALESMANSHIP 


his  house  is  equipped  can  often  gain  an  interview  and  an  order 
by  first  submitting  samples  and  prices.  This  necessitates  a 
careful  and  thorough  preapproach  and  study  of  the  firms  that 
seem  to  be  the  most  likely  prospects. 

In  making  quotations,  as  in  all  other  statements  of  fact,  it 
is  important  to  be  clear  and  definite.  Aimless  quoting  of 
prices  for  a  lot  of  things  a  buyer  cannot  use  only  bores  him; 
complicated  figures  which  need  close  study  irritate  him.  But 
clear  and  concise  quotations  for  the  kind  and  amount  of  goods 
he  usually  buys  are  interesting  items  of  information  to  which 
he  will  be  sure  to  give  careful  consideration. 


CHAPTER  VII 


WINNING  THE  INTERVIEW 

To  Break  in  Is  Often  Half  the  Battle. — A  keen  young 
salesman  carefully  trained  himself  in  the  art  of  demonstrating 
his  goods;  he  committed  every  conceivable  talking  point  to 
memory ;  the  old  hands  at  the  game  taught  him  how  to  answer 
all  likely  objections  with  apt  and  telling  replies — until  he  knew 
what  to  say  and  do  under  every  conceivable  circumstance. 
Finally  he  was  sent  out  on  the  road  to  interview  heads  of  large 
corporations  who  usually  had  to  be  reached  through  a  clerk 
at  the  information  desk. 

He  started  on  his  round  brimful  of  enthusiasm.  He 
returned  in  less  than  a  month  with  all  his  zeal  gone  and  without 
an  order.  When  asked  to  explain  the  cause  of  his  failure  his 
answer  was,  “I  knew  just  what  to  do  when  I  met  the  prospect. 
The  trouble  was  I  never  got  near  him.” 

A  salesman  may  study  his  goods  and  his  market,  memorize 
his  talking  points,  assemble  them  into  two  or  three  complete 
sales  talks,  and  be  adept  in  meeting  every  conceivable  objec¬ 
tion;  yet  if  he  is  held  at  arm’s  length  and  can  only  occasionally 
break  through  the  outer  defences  of  his  prospects  his  sales 
record  will  be  low. 

One  Definite  Rule  You  Can  Always  Apply. — There  is 
no  sure  method  of  getting  into  the  buyer’s  presence.  There  is, 
however,  one  rule  which  every  salesman  can  safely  adopt  at  all 
times:  Never  be  discouraged  when  you  are  refused  an  inter¬ 
view,  but  keep  on  calling.  The  very  persistence  of  your  calls 

63 


64 


PRINCIPLES  OF  SALESMANSHIP 


will  in  time  at  least  create  respect  and  in  nine  cases  out  of  ter*, 
break  down  opposition. 

Buyers  often  judge  the  mettle  of  a  new  salesman  largely 
by  his  persistence  in  calling  regularly  in  spite  of  rebuffs.  The 
man  who  turns  up  again  and  again  in  the  face  of  previous 
“turndowns,”  always  with  the  same  smile  and  always  with  the 
attitude  that  to  grant  him  an  interview  is  the  most  natural 
thing  in  the  world,  will  be  sure  to  win  the  interview  in  the  end. 

Reasons  Why  the  Buyer  Refuses  an  Interview — It 

should  be  remembered  that  the  prospective  customer’s  refusal 
of  an  interview  may  result  from  any  of  several  reasons  which 
may  not  exist  at  the  next  visit.  He  is  very  likely  far  too  busy 
with  other  affairs.  Possibly  he  decides  that  the  goods  are  of 
no  immediate  interest  and  that  an  interview  will  be  a  waste  of 
time.  Again,  his  relations  with  a  firm  which  at  present  sup¬ 
plies  him  may  be  such  as  he  does  not  wish  to  break  off.  When 
the  salesman  again  calls  the  former  condition  may  no  longer 
exist  and  a  chance  for  an  opening  arises. 

The  refusal  may  not  be  due  to  business  but  to  purely  per¬ 
sonal  reasons.  Perhaps  the  buyer  feels  unwell  or  worried— 
or  he  may  be  anxious  to  leave  the  office  early  to  meet  his  wife — 
or  he  declined  because  of  any  or  more  of  a  score  of  reasons 
that  keep  him  from  granting  an  interview  at  the  time  of  the 
salesman’s  call.  Whatever  the  reason  the  refusal  is  usually  in 
the  form  of  a  stereotyped  excuse  to  the  effect  that  “Mr.  Brown 
is  too  busy  to  see  you  today,”  or  “Mr.  Brown  says  there  is 
nothing  wanting  on  this  trip.” 

Thus  when  no  indication  is  given  of  the  reason  for  refusal 
the  presumption  is  that  another  call  may  prove  more  effective. 

When  to  Force  an  Interview. — Every  refusal  to  grant  an 
interview  creates  a  situation  that  needs  to  be  handled  according 
to  the  circumstances  of  that  case. 


WINNING  THE  INTERVIEW 


65 


If  the  salesman  represents  a  wholesale  house  and  knows 
that  he  will  be  making  the  same  trip  several  times  during  the 
course  of  a  year,  the  better  policy  may  be  to  leave  his  card 
if  the  buyer  will  not  see  him.  As  he  leaves  the  office  he  says 
to  the  information  clerk  or  the  telephone  operator,  “I  am  sorry 
Mr.  Jones  cannot  see  me  today.  I  will  call  on  my  next  round, 
when  I  hope  to  find  he  has  more  time  to  spare.” 

In  such  a  case  pertinacity  and  regularity  in  calling — always 
with  the  same  good  nature — will  in  time  break  down  the 
opposition  of  any  buyer  who  has  no  personal  grudge  against 
the  salesman  or  his  house. 

The  specialty  salesman  can  sometimes  call  again  only  after 
a  long  interview.  If  his  work  is  to  be  productive  and  pay  for 
the  heavy  cost  of  personal  solicitation  he  must  gain  the  ear  of 
a  certain  number  of  customers  daily.  To  serve  the  purpose  of 
an  entering  wedge  advertising  literature  or  a  series  of  form 
letters  will  probably  have  been  sent  ahead  of  him  with  the 
object  of  interesting  the  prospective  customer  sufficiently  to 
make  him  willing  to  grant  an  interview.  A  refusal  after  this 
preliminary  approach  will  imply  that  he  is  still  not  interested 
so  that  other  tactics  must  be  adopted. 

In  a  few  cases  ingenuity  may  be  needed  or  a  little  audacity 
in  forcing  an  interview  may  be  recommended.  It  is  advisable, 
however,  never  to  try  to  force  one’s  presence  on  a  customer 
until  he  has  been  called  upon  several  times  without  avail,  or 
unless  correspondence  has  preceded  the  call. 

Polite  Insistence  Always  Worth  a  Trial _ Sometimes  a 

genial  way  of  insisting  upon  an  interview  may  prove  effective; 
certainly  it  is  always  worth  a  trial. 

A  salesman  selling  a  specialty  in  the  mechanical  field 
(broaching  machines)  made  a  special  trip  to  a  large  automobile 
factory  near  Detroit.  A  pleasant  young  woman  at  the  informa¬ 
tion  desk  sent  his  card  in  to  the  purchasing  agent,  whom  he 


66 


PRINCIPLES  OF  SALESMANSHIP 


particularly  wished  to  see.  A  messenger  returned  with  the 
words  scribbled  on  the  back  of  the  card :  “Too  busy  to  see  you 
today — in  weekly  conference.” 

“How  long  does  this  meeting  last?”  he  asked  the  girl. 

“About  two  hours.” 

“I’ll  wait  until  it  is  over  and  then  perhaps  the  purchasing 
agent  will  see  me.” 

“It’s  useless,”  she  replied.  “He  will  be  much  too  busy  and 
he  always  refuses  to  see  anybody  after  the  weekly  conference. 
Did  you  arrange  an  appointment?” 

“No,”  replied  the  salesman. 

“Then  I’d  advise  you  to  do  so  and  call  again.” 

The  salesman  paused  to  reflect  as  he  turned  to  leave.  After 
a  few  moments  he  took  out  another  card  and  wrote  on  the 
back  of  it : 

“I  merely  want  to  shake  you  by  the  hand  and  look  you  in 
the  eye  so  that  next  year  when  I  call  again  and  you  have  more 
time  you  will  know  what  I  look  like.” 

He  asked  the  girl  to  send  this  message  in  to  the  purchasing 
agent.  The  card  returned  with  the  answer,  “Call  at  four.” 
He  had  finally  secured  the  coveted  interview. 

When  to  Avoid  Mentioning  the  Nature  of  One’s  Busi¬ 
ness. — Occasionally  the  better  policy  is  not  to  announce  the 
name  of  the  firm  represented  or  the  nature  of  its  business. 
This  is  peculiarily  applicable  to  the  sale  of  certain  specialties  in 
which  the  prospect  thinks  he  is  not  interested.  In  such  a  case 
it  may  be  necessary  to  gain  admittance  by  pertinacious  insis¬ 
tence  without  stating  the  nature  of  the  business  until  face  to 
face  with  the  buyer. 

For  instance,  when  an  automatic  scale  salesman  enters  a 
store  he  walks  up  to  the  person  whom  he  judges  to  be  the 
storekeeper  and  says,  “Is  this  Mr.  Johnson?”  If  the  person 
addressed  proves  to  be  a  clerk  he  is  flattered  as  being  mistaken 


WINNING  THE  INTERVIEW 


67 


for  the  proprietor.  Should  the  clerk  reply,  “Mr.  Johnson  is 
busy/’  the  salesman  answers,  “Very  well,  I  will  wait  a  few 
minutes  until  he  is  at  liberty.”  If  the  proprietor  is  out,  “Very 
well,  I  will  call  again.  When  is  he  likely  to  be  in?” 

If  the  clerk  asks,  “What  is  your  business?  What  do  you 
want  to  see  him  about?”  the  salesman  quietly  replies,  “I  want 
to  see  Mr.  Johnson  personally.  I  will  wait  until  I  can  see  him.” 
If  the  clerk  is  insistent  or  reveals  annoyance  at  the  secrecy,  the 
salesman  pleasantly  answers,  “My  name  is  Smith.  Will  you 
please  tell  Mr.  Johnson  that  Mr.  Smith  wishes  to  see  him  and 
explain  his  business  to  him  personally.” 

When  the  salesman  finally  comes  face  to  face  with  the 
proprietor,  if  he  is  asked  to  explain  his  business,  he  openly 
states  the  reason  for  his  call — “I  represent  the - Scale  Com¬ 

pany.”  This  opening  puts  the  salesman  on  a  square  footing. 
If  the  prospect  has  any  objections  to  granting  an  interview  or 
any  reason  for  refusing  to  listen  to  the  salesman’s  talk  about 
automatic  scales  his  fire  is  drawn  at  once.  The  problem  of  this 
salesman’s  procedure  from  this  point  on  is  treated  in  subse¬ 
quent  chapters. 

Ask  for  an  Interview  with  a  Definite  Person. — As  a  rule 

it  is  an  advantage  when  seeking  an  interview  to  be  able  to  ask 
to  see  Mr.  So-and-So  rather  than  an  indefinite  person,  such 
as  the  buyer,  the  manager,  or  the  merchandise  man. 

A  salesman  handling  office  supplies  found  that  whenever 
he  asked  if  the  “buyer  of  supplies”  was  in  he  nearly  always  met 
with  a  request  for  his  card  or  was  asked  to  state  his  business. 
He  finally  concluded  that  the  very  fact  of  asking  for  “the 
buyer”  hurt  his  chances  of  winning  an  interview. 

He  decided  that  it  would  be  better  to  find  out  the  buyer’s 
name  and  introduce  himself  in  such  a  way  as  to  avoid  imme¬ 
diate  opposition.  On  some  occasions  he  was  able  to  ascertain 
the  buyer’s  name  in  advance  but  more  often  he  entered  the 


68 


PRINCIPLES  OF  SALESMANSHIP 


office  of  a  prospect  without  this  information.  To  conceal  his 
ignorance  his  method  was  “I  want  to  see  Mr.  —  er  —  Mr. 
— er;  what  is  his  name?  Who  is  the  buyer  of  office  supplies?” 

The  girl  at  the  information  desk  generally  replied,  “Is  it 

Mr.  - you  mean?”  to  which  the  salesman  answered  “Yes. 

That’s  the  man  I  want.  Please  tell  him  that  Mr.  Blank  is  here.” 
The  girl  would  then  either  telephone  to  the  buyer  or  send  in 
a  message  to  the  effect  that  “Mr.  Blank  has  called,  sir.”  The 
buyer  possibly  wondering  who  Mr.  Blank  was,  would  in  some 
cases  see  the  salesman  so  as  to  satisfy  his  curiosity. 

Expect  the  Interview. — The  winning  of  an  interview  as 
in  the  example  already  cited  is  much  easier  if  one  approaches 
with  the  attitude  of  expecting  to  receive  it.  When  we  doubt 
whether  a  privilege  will  be  granted  we  invite  a  refusal;  but  if 
we  treat  it  as  a  matter  of  course  we  are  much  more  likely  to 
receive  it.  Obviously  when  a  salesman  calls  and  asks  if  the 
buyer  or  the  manager  is  in  he  does  not  know  the  name  of  the 
person  he  wants  to  see.  A  question  such  as  this  exposes  his 
business  and  his  ignorance.  The  information  clerk  goes  to  the 
buyer  and  says : 

“There’s  a  salesman  who  wants  to  see  you,  sir.” 

“Tell  him  I’m  busy,”  is  a  frequent  reply  even  before  the 
prospect  looks  at  the  card. 

The  salesman  should  fortify  his  persistence  by  reflecting 
that  three-quarters  of  all  business  is  transacted  by  means  of 
salesmen  and  that  it  is  all  in  the  day’s  routine  for  wholesale 
buyers,  purchasing  agents,  and  retailers  to  refuse  at  times  to 
grant  an  interview.  A  prerogative  of  the  salesman  is  to  be 
persistent,  provided  he  believes  he  has  something  of  interest 
and  profit  to  show  to  the  buyer. 

The  Adroit  Use  of  Samples — Samples  can  sometime^  be 
used  as  a  means  of  gaining  an  interview  when  the  direct  ap- 


WINNING  THE  INTERVIEW 


69 


proach  fails.  The  wholesale  salesman  who  wishes  to  display 
his  supplies  and  is  not  given  an  opportunity  to  do  so  often  feels 
that  if  only  the  buyer  could  be  shown  the  new  lines,  business 
would  be  secured  in  spite  of  a  previous  reluctance  to  look  at 
them. 

Among  the  customers  of  a  wholesale  millinery  house  was  a 
certain  large  specialty  store  buyer  who  was  usually  inaccessi¬ 
ble  if  the  salesman  chanced  to  call  while  he  was  in  his  office. 
Not  infrequently  the  word  would  come  back,  “Nothing  is 
wanted  on  this  trip,”  or  ‘Tm  too  busy.”  It  is  true  the  sales¬ 
man  might  have  sent  up  a  second  message  to  the  inaccessible 
buyer  saying  that  he  wished  to  show  a  few  special  lines  and 
that  he  wanted  to  see  him  for  a  few  minutes  only,  but  experi¬ 
ence  proved  that  the  chance  of  thus  winning  an  interview  was 
slender.  Finally  as  the  best  way  out  of  the  difficulty  he  adopted 
the  following  plan :  • 

When  he  returned  to  his  hotel  late  in  the  afternoon  he 
selected  a  few  “specials”  which  he  thought  would  prove  most 
tempting  to  the  buyer  who  had  refused  to  see  him.  He  sent 
these  by  special  messenger  to  the  office  of  the  buyer  with  a  note 
worded  as  follows : 

“Sorry  you  were  so  busy  when  I  called  today.  To  save 
your  time  I  am  sending  by  special  messenger  a  few  samples  of 
my  novelties  which  I  feel  I  ought  to  show  you  before  leaving 
town.  Look  them  over  at  your  leisure  between  now  and  ten 
o’clock  tomorrow  morning.  I  will  be  at  the  store  about  that 
time.  I  don’t  want  to  leave  town  without  shaking  hands  with 
you  at  any  rate.” 

No  plan  is  ever  uniformly  successful,  but  persistence  in 
trying  different  methods  will  secure  many  interviews  that  other¬ 
wise  would  never  be  granted.  Every  wholesale  salesman 
carries  among  his  samples  two  or  three  attractive  leaders  to  be 
used  in  securing  an  opening,  and  he  usually  also  knows  which 
items  in  his  line  will  most  please  the  fancy  of  each  buyer.  The 


70 


PRINCIPLES  OF  SALESMANSHIP 


use  of  these  in  the  manner  indicated  will  often  be  found 
effective  when  everything  else  has  failed.  The  buyer  naturally 
looks  over  the  samples,  and  whether  interested  or  not,  at  least 
feels  under  the  obligation  of  thanking  the  salesman  for  the 
trouble  he  has  taken — if  only  by  “shaking  hands.” 

Heroic  Methods  Sometimes  Needed. — The  more  difficult 
an  article  is  to  sell,  such  as  a  specialized  service  or  a  high-priced 
specialty,  the  greater  as  a  rule  will  be  the  obstacles  encountered 
when  breaking  through  the  outer  barricades  with  which  many 
business  men  and  buyers  protect  themselves  from  the  insistent 
salesman.  The  more  heroic,  accordingly,  must  be  the  means 
adopted  to  get  an  interview.  The  result,  however,  must  justify 
the  salesman’s  persistence.  An  interview  gained  by  means  of 
insistence,  or  by  means  of  “nerve,”  would  be  worse  than  useless 
if,  when  it  opens,  the  salesman  is  unable  to  take  complete  com¬ 
mand  of  the  situation. 

A  salesman  representing  an  advertising  novelty  house 
which  was  as  yet  unknown,  knew  that  if  he  could  once  secure 
the  ear  of  certain  prospects  his  offer  was  such  that  in  nine  cases 
out  of  ten  business  would  result.  The  words  “advertising 
novelty,”  however,  conveyed  little  to  the  business  man  beyond 
the  fact  that  one  more  salesman  wanted  to  see  him,  probably 
waste  his  time.  The  salesman’s  firm  supplied  its  men  with 
tasteful  business  cards,  but  as  these  explained  nothing  they  all 
too  frequently  acted  as  a  hindrance  rather  than  a  help.  The 
problem  was  to  win  the  ear  of  a  prospect  before  announcing  the 
nature  of  the  business. 

The  salesman  determined  to  change  his  tactics  and  discard 
the  use  of  a  card  as  a  means  of  passing  the  outer  guard.  When 
asked  by  the  information  clerk  what  he  wanted  he  said,  “Tell 
Mr.  Jones  that  Mr.  Blank  has  called.” 

When  the  messenger  returned  with  the  request  for  his 
card,  as  was  frequently  the  case,  he  replied;  “I  have  no  cards. 
Wait  a  minute,  though,  I  will  give  you  a  note.” 


WINNING  THE  INTERVIEW 


7 1 


Thereupon  tearing  a  plain  sheet  of  paper  from  a  pad  he 
wrote  in  pencil,  “Must  see  you  now 'for  four  minutes  if  possible 
to  make  report  complete.  Persistent  in  asking  for  an  interview 
because  the  matter  is  important  to  you.” 

This  free  and  easy  message  while  not  very  explicit  was  at 
least  courageous.  We  all  admire  courage  and  pertinacity  and 
neither  a  business  man  nor  his  buyer  ever  resents  the  forcing 
of  an  interview  if  the  salesman  quickly  justifies  his  aggres¬ 
siveness  in  his  opening  statement. 

The  Courageous  Audacity  of  a  Book  Salesman — If  the 

path  of  the  salesman  selling  such  a  specialty  as  advertising  is 
thorny,  that  of  the  high-priced  book  salesman  is  barricaded  with 
barbed  wire.  As  a  rule  the  book  salesman  works  doggedly  and 
persistently,  knowing  that  the  law  of  averages  will  in  the  end 
atone  for  all  things  and  that  if  he  only  calls  on  a  sufficient 
number  of  persons  he  will  gain  a  certain  number  of  orders. 
Some  men,  however,  adopt  a  more  courageous  attitude  with 
proportionately  better  results.  They  know  that  their  address 
and  personality  are  such  as  to  permit  them  to  take  chances  ir 
securing  an  interview  by  means  of  courageous  diplomacy,  and 
ingenuity  is  often  revealed  in  the  means  they  adopt  to  this  end. 

An  adept  in  salesmanship  with  a  fair  share  of  that  quality 
we  may  call  courageous  audacity  determined  to  secure  an  order 
for  a  high-priced  set  of  books  from  a  bank  president  who  was 
a  collector  of  fine  books.  There  seemed  little  hope  of  an  inter¬ 
view  because  a  man  of  commercial  eminence  will  not  as  a  rule 
see  anybody  until  his  secretary  has  first  inspected  and  passed 
upon  the  names  of  those  seeking  admittance.  A  few  casual 
inquiries  revealed  the  fact  that  the  bank  president  was  known 
to  his  college  chums  by  the  nickname  of  “Chic,”  an  abbrevia¬ 
tion  of  his  first  name,  Charles.  Armed  with  this  information 
the  salesman  called  and  asked  to  see  his  man. 

“Will  you  give  me  your  card,  please?”  the  secretary  politely 
requested. 


72 


PRINCIPLES  OF  SALESMANSHIP 


The  salesman  opened  his  pocketbook — to  discover  that  he 
had  forgotten  to  renew  his  supply.  “Fm  sorry  to  say  I  happen 
to  be  out  of  cards,”  he  said,  “but  if  you  will  tell  Mr.  Blank  that 
Mr.  Jenkins  would  like  to  speak  to  him  for  a  few  moments, 
I’m  sure  he’ll  be  glad  to  see  me.” 

“What  is  your  business?  The  president  sees  nobody  with¬ 
out  this  information.  Are  you  soliciting  a  subscription  of 
any  kind?” 

The  salesman  answered,  “If  you  will  take  this  note  to  him 
he  will  see  me” — and  he  wrote  on  a  piece  of  paper:  “Dear 
Chic,  I  want  to  see  you  for  a  minute.  F.  J.” 

The  secretary  read  this  intimate  message,  hesitated  for  a 
moment,  and  then  took  it  to  the  president.  A  few  minutes 
later  the  salesman  was  asked  to  come  in. 

His  opening  remarks  were,  “Mr.  Blank,  I  have  never  had 
the  pleasure  of  meeting  you  before  in  my  life  and  I  apologize 
for  taking  a  liberty  with  your  name.  But  I  knew  of  no  other 
way  to  see  you.  I  know  how  many  people  want  your  ear  and 
how  necessary  it  is  to  guard  your  time,  but  this  proposition  had 
to  be  put  before  you  because  it  is  one  that  will  surely  appeal 
to  you.  It  will  take  me  exactly  eight  and  a  half  minutes  to 
do  so.  If  you  say  ‘No,’  I  leave  right  away.  Do  I  win  my 
interview?” 

All  this  was  said,  not  with  an  air  of  apologetic  deference, 
but  with  the  manner  of  a  man  who  is  not  ashamed  of  what  he 
has  done  and  is  quite  ready  to  take  the  consequences  if  he  has 
made  a  tactical  error.  The  personality  of  the  book  salesman 
appealed  to  the  president  and  his  sporting  instinct  appreciated 
the  situation.  Audacity  is  always  admired.  With  the  right 
touch  of  genial  salesmanship,  audacity  will  carry  a  man  through 
where  timidity  and  hesitancy  spell  failure. 

Sheer  Nerve  Sometimes  Wins  Out. — The  biggest  rewards 
fall  to  the  salesman  who  successfully  handles  tasks  which 


WINNING  THE  INTERVIEW 


73 


require  in  addition  to  all  other  qualifications  of  salesmanship,  a 
certain  amount  of  audacity.  Yet,  as  in  the  preceding  instance, 
audacity  in  forcing  one’s  way  into  the  presence  of  the  buyer  is 
justified  only  by  results.  The  offer  must  be  such  as  at  once 
to  convince  the  prospect  that  it  is  worth  his  time  and  attention. 

A  new  patent  ash  barrel  only  needed  to  be  shown  to  be  sold 
in  nine  cases  out  of  ten.  Yet  the  salesman  handling  it  was 
frequently  refused  admittance  because  both  his  firm  and  the 
invention  were  still  unknown.  After  sending  in  his  card  a 
message  usually  came  back  to  the  effect  that  “Mr.  Blank  is 
sorry  he  can’t  see  you  today.”  So  the  salesman  changed  his 
method.  When  the  road  to  the  buyer’s  office  was  in  sight  he 
would  frequently  reply,  “Thank  you,”  and  walk  right  past  the 
girl  at  the  information  desk  into  the  buyer’s  sanctum.  Imme¬ 
diately  on  entering  he  placed  a  model  of  the  barrel  on  the 
prospective  buyer’s  desk  and  in  nine  cases  out  of  ten  the  buyer 
was  too  surprised  to  say  anything  for  a  minute  or  two,  although 
occasionally  he  might  resent  the  salesman’s  entry  with  such 
words  as,  “Didn’t  the  girl  tell  you  I  couldn’t  see  you?” 

“Yes,  she  did,  Mr.  Blank,”  the  salesman  would  cheerfully 
reply,  “but  that  was  only  because  you  didn’t  know  just  what  it 
is  I  have  to  offer  you.  Now  if  I  am  taking  up  your  time  when 
you  are  really  too  busy  to  see  me,  say  so  and  I  will  leave  at 
once.  Meanwhile,  just  inspect  this  model  of  our  new  patent 
ash  barrel.  It  speaks  for  itself.  Notice  how  these  corrugated 
staves  make  it  impossible  to  dent  the  sides.  .  .  .  I’ll  call 
again  tomorrow  morning  and  hear  what  you  have  to  say  about 


Confidence  No  Justification  for  Impudence. — These  last 
two  examples  of  winning  an  interview  represent  the  climax  of 
audacity.  Such  measures,  however,  are  rarely  necessary,  and 
are  only  for  emergency  use  under  conditions  and  with  manipu¬ 
lation  that  justify  extreme  measures.  The  assumption  that 


74 


PRINCIPLES  OF  SALESMANSHIP 


“nerve”  is  an  efficient  substitute  for  honorable  and  sincere 
manliness  is  contemptible.  For  the  average  salesman  the  best 
method  is  to  adhere  to  the  well-worn  road  of  steady  pertinacity 
backed  up  by  invariable  cheerfulness  in  spite  of  refusals.  If 
judgment  is  revealed  in  selecting  prospects  no  serious  difficulty 
will  be  encountered  in  securing  all  the  interviews  that  can  be 
handled.  The  house-to-house  canvasser  who  is  selling  coffee 
will,  of  course,  waste  his  time  if  he  persistently  knocks  at  the 
back  door  of  the  White  House  and  asks  for  the  President’s 
wife.  But  where  a  salesman  is  handling  an  offering  which  he 
knows  is  worth  examining,  then  the  art  of  winning  an  inter¬ 
view  simply  resolves  itself  into  making  a  sufficient  number  of 
calls  in  likely  quarters  and  interesting  the  prospects  who  decline 
to  see  him  by  means  of  suitable  personal  letters  or  other  adver¬ 
tising  literature.  By  such  means  those  who  at  first  resolutely 
refuse  an  interview  are  finally  won  over  and  the  barricades 
are  lowered. 


CHAPTER  VIII 


OPENING  THE  INTERVIEW 

The  Progress  to  Undivided  Attention — In  winning  the 
interview  the  salesman  has  obtained  favorable  attention  for 
the  moment ;  it  is  now  his  task  to  secure  undivided  attention 
not  only  to  himself  but  more  especially  to  his  offering.  This 
chapter  deals  then  with  this  critical  moment  when  the  prospect 
waits  with  more  or  less  impatience  for  the  explanation  of  the 
caller’s  errand. 

Make  a  Good  First  Impression  on  the  Buyer. — First  im¬ 
pressions  may  sometimes  be  misleading,  but  they  are  at  times 
exceedingly  important.  Upon  the  impression  made  during  the 
first  minute  or  two  of  the  salesman’s  interview  will  frequently 
depend  the  opportunity  to  explain  his  mission  and  thus  secure 
a  sale.  For  this  reason  in  the  training  of  the  salesman  empha¬ 
sis  is  rightly  laid  on  his  personal  appearance,  his  clothes,  his 
manner,  and  his  personality  as  a  whole.  When  he  creates  an 
unfavorable  impression  because  of  defects  in  any  of  these 
points,  he  may  fail  to  secure  that  attention  which  is  the  first 
step  in  presenting  a  successful  sales  argument;  he  then  breaks 
down  in  his  effort  before  he  even  secures  an  opening.  When 
he  makes  a  favorable  impression  and  answers  any  preliminary 
questions  in  a  convincing  way,  the  prospective  customer  at 
once  becomes  attentive  and  is  willing  to  have  the  proposition 
explained. 

If  the  first  interview  is  a  failure,  a  second  opening  will  be 
difficult  to  secure.  A  sale  is  rarely  made  in  the  first  interview 
when  the  transaction  is  of  any  importance  or  when  the  first 

75 


76 


PRINCIPLES  OF  SALESMANSHIP 


sale  is  expected  to  be  followed  by  repeat  orders  from  time  to 
time.  But  when  a  favorable  impression  is  made  during  the 
first  call  and  the  interest  of  the  buyer  is  aroused  to  the  point 
of  displaying  some  sign  of  geniality,  then  the  salesman  has 
every  reason  to  hope  that  persistence  in  calling  will  ultimately 
lead  to  a  trial  of  his  line  or  his  specialty. 

The  Manner  of  Approach. — Not  only  are  personal  neat¬ 
ness  and  general  attractiveness  absolute  essentials,  but  other 
points  likewise  connected  with  the  first  stages  of  the  interview 
are  of  the  first  importance.  Hesitancy  or  confusion  almost 
inevitably  react  unfavorably  on  the  prospect;  the  salesman 
must  be  prepared  to  act  with  calmness  and  decision  from  begin¬ 
ning  to  end,  meeting  both  normal  and  abnormal  situations  with 
poise  and  good  nature.  This  accomplishment  is  not  gained  by 
continual  experience  alone,  nor  is  one  in  a  thousand  naturally 
possessed  of  adequate  temperament  and  speed  of  decision  to 
handle  the  approach  to  a  prospective  customer  without  prepara¬ 
tion.  While  special  and  individual  cases  demand  particular 
treatment,  yet  the  chief  points  to  be  observed  in  each  of  the 
three  fields  of  salesmanship  are  exceedingly  simple  and  hold 
good  in  practically  every  case,  being  subject,  of  course,  to  the 
salesman’s  own  personality. 

The  Wholesale  Manner  of  Approach. — On  entering  an 
office  the  salesman  removes  his  hat,  and  in  wet  weather,  his 
overcoat;  these  he  places  on  a  convenient  chair.  His  bag  or 
sample  case  he  places  by  the  wall  out  of  the  path  of  passersby. 
Thus  he  frees  himself  from  embarrassing  entanglements. 
This  suggestion  may  seem  somewhat  absurd  or  superfluous, 
yet  the  prominent  feature  of  the  inexperienced  salesman  is 
clumsiness,  a  tendency  to  do  the  wrong  thing  and  to  stumble 
over  himself  and  his  possessions.  So,  too,  he  must  be  neither 
hasty  nor  slow;  steadiness  and  deliberation  in  movement  as 


OPENING  THE  INTERVIEW 


77 


m  speech  mark  the  man  who  is  sure  of  himself  and  his  mission. 
The  wholesale  buyer,  frequently  a  purchasing  agent  who  does 
little  else  besides  interview  salesmen  or  read  sales  letters,  is 
especially  quick  to  note  any  clumsiness  or  other  sign  of  inability 
and  becomes  indifferent  forthwith. 

In  dealing  with  retail  storekeepers  the  principle  remains  the 
same;  the  salesman  rids  himself  of  encumbrances  quietly  and 
without  fuss,  then  makes  himself  known.  One  unusually  suc¬ 
cessful  wholesale  hardware  man  used  to  make  himself  useful 
whenever  he  entered  a  store  where  the  owner  was  busy  or 
business  very  active;  sometimes  he  stepped  behind  the  counter 
and  sold  goods;  sometimes  he  wrapped  bundles;  at  others,  if 
the  windows  were  being  dressed,  he  began  helping  carry  the 
goods  to  the  window  dresser;  and  often  enough  he  gradually 
took  charge  and  directed  the  window  dressing,  doing  the  greater 
part  of  the  work  himself  with  manifest  taste  and  skill.  All 
this  with  a  quiet  businesslike  air  that  gave  the  impression  that 
he  was  part  and  parcel  of  the  firm. 

This  quiet  air  of  knowing  what  he  is  about  and  calmly 
going  ahead  and  doing  it  is  half  the  battle  of  securing  favor¬ 
able  and  undivided  attention.  It  results  from  careful  study 
of  one’s  own  temperament  and  of  the  situations  that  he  will 
encounter,  so  that  he  knows  beforehand  exactly  what  he  will 
do.  In  fact,  many  salesmen  rehearse  the  entrance  and  approach 
under  various  conditions,  until  they  are  perfect  in  whatever 
part  they  may  be  called  on  to  present. 

The  Specialty  Manner  of  Approach. — This  principle 
applies  in  even  greater  degree  to  the  specialty  salesman.  He 
must  not  only  convey  with  still  greater  effectiveness  that  he 
expects  an  interview  as  a  matter  of  course,  but  likewise  he 
must  avoid  any  suggestion  that  ringing  doorbells  or  visiting 
offices  is  a  perfunctory  and  boring  occupation  that  he  has  be¬ 
come  inured  to. 


78 


PRINCIPLES  OF  SALESMANSHIP 


The  house-to-house  salesman  has  to  do  more  than  merely 
ring  the  bell.  He  has  to  suggest  that  he  is  going  to  enter. 
In  the  summer  he  does  this  by  stepping  to  one  side  so  that  the 
screen  door  may  be  pushed  open  for  him ;  in  winter  by  brush¬ 
ing  the  snow  off  his  coat,  knocking  the  mud  off  his  shoes, 
closing  his  umbrella,  turning  down  his  collar,  or  some  similar 
action.  In  other  words,  he  acts  precisely  as  if  he  were  making 
a  social  call.  Once  in  the  house  he  must  be  prepared  for  his 
next  move  just  as  the  wholesale  salesman  is,  and  must  display 
poise  and  ease  of  behavior  with  special  care  against  appearing 
familiar  or  too  much  at  home. 

Appearance  in  Selling  a  Specialty. — Probably  the  sales 
which  call  for  the  greatest  degree  of  adroitness  and  tact  are 
those  offering  a  service,  such  as  insurance  or  advertising,  in 
which  the  prospect  must  first  be  made  to  realize  his  need; 
and  also  the  sale  of  a  comparatively  high-priced  specialty, 
because  in  this  case  the  investment  is  a  big  and  unusual  ex¬ 
penditure.  When  negotiating  one  of  these  sales  the  importance 
of  making  a  favorable  impression  is  paramount — as  exemplified 
in  the  following  extract  taken  from  the  sales  manual  of  a 
house  selling  a  well-known  specialty.  With  this  firm  the  art 
of  approaching  a  customer  is  considered  the  most  important 
detail  in  a  sale,  to  which  the  art  of  closing  the  sale  comes  a 
close  second. 

The  first  point  in  approaching  the  prospect  is  to  look  like 
a  gentleman,  act  like  a  man,  and  make  him  listen  to  you. 

The  next  thing  is — not  to  half  persuade  him  that  he  ought  to 
buy,  but  wholly  to  convince  him  that  he  ought  to  look  into  the 
subject.  Free  his  mind  at  the  start  from  the  impression  that 
you  are  trying  to  force  him  into  buying  something  he  doesn’t 
want.  Disclaim  any  such  intention.  But  insist  that  it  is  a 
matter  of  such  importance  that  he  positively  ought  to  investi¬ 
gate  and  judge  for  himself  whether  or  not  our  service  will 
be  of  help  to  him  in  his  daily  work. 


OPENING  THE  INTERVIEW 


79 


Insist  upon  the  Customer’s  Undivided  Attention. — After 
being  admitted  to  the  customer’s  presence  the  salesman  should 
decline  to  describe  his  offer  until  the  listener  is  able  to  give 
him  his  whole  attention.  A  common  practice  among  business 
men  when  they  are  found  working  at  their  desks  is  to  say 
to  the  unknown  salesman,  “Go  ahead,  I  can  listen  to  you  while 
I  work,  I’m  busy.”  To  such  a  statement  the  salesman  should 
promptly  reply,  “Thank  you,  I  am  perfectly  willing  to  wait 
until  you  are  at  leisure,’’  and  the  action  can  be  suited  to  the 
word  by  the  salesman  taking  a  seat.  The  salesman  breaks  into 
the  presence  of  the  business  man  and  occupies  his  time  because 
he  is  convinced  that  his  offer  is  worth  serious  consideration 
and  the  time  needed  to  explain  its  merits.  Therefore,  if  he  is 
willing  to  accept  only  a  half-hearted  form  of  attention,  he 
immediately  and  inconsistently  depreciates  the  worth  of  his 
mission.  Instead  of  doing  business  on  an  equal  footing  he 
adopts  the  attitude  of  asking  a  favor. 

A  salesman  entered  a  retail  store  and  found  the  merchant 
engaged  in  opening  cases.  The  salesman  was  invited  to  “go 
ahead  and  tell  his  story,’’  the  merchant  at  the  same  time  con¬ 
tinuing  his  hammering. 

“My  proposition,’’  replied  the  salesman,  “is  important 
enough  to  deserve  your  whole  attention  for  a  few  minutes. 
If  you  find  it  absolutely  inconvenient  to  give  me  your  whole 
attention  just  now,  Mr.  Blank,  I  will  call  again  this  afternoon 
at  whatever  time  you  say.” 

The  salesman’s  polite  insistence  made  the  merchant  realize 
that  his  business  must  be  worth  serious  consideration.  So  he 
ceased  the  work  of  unpacking,  which  as  the  salesman  shrewdly 
surmized  was  of  no  immediate  importance,  in  order  to  hear 
what  the  representative  had  to  say.  A  manner  which  is  cour¬ 
teously  firm,  as  in  the  case  just  mentioned,  will  usually  succeed 
in  securing  the  customer’s  undivided  attention. 

A  salesman  new  to  the  game  usually  fails  to  appreciate  the 


8o 


PRINCIPLES  OF  SALESMANSHIP 


importance  of  firmly  putting  aside  any  attempt  to  give  only 
partial  attention  to  what,  after  all,  is  an  important  and  legiti¬ 
mate  kind  of  business  interview.  If  an  influential  customer 
called  on  a  firm  and  asked  to  see  its  head  he  would  be  given 
prompt  and  undivided  attention.  The  go-ahead-and-tell-me- 
your-story  attitude  would  be  suicidal.  Yet  the  importance  of 
transactions  between  buyer  and  salesman  are  as  a  rule  of 
much  greater  moment  to  a  firm  than  any  transactions  with 
an  individual  customer.  Therefore,  the  only  dignified  course 
is  to  insist  upon  receiving  the  prospect’s  attention. 

How  to  Patch  Up  a  Broken  Interview. — When  a  prospec¬ 
tive  customer  is  found  to  be  engaged  with  somebody  else  or 
when  somebody  interrupts  the  interview,  the  salesman  should 
wait  until  the  buyer  is  at  liberty  to  give  him  his  undivided 
attention.  Interviews  are  frequently  disturbed  in  this  way. 
When  a  break  occurs  it  is  important  briefly  to  recapitulate  the 
selling  points  already  made  in  order  that  the  argument  may 
lose  none  of  its  effect.  If  the  salesman  continues  his  talk 
without  this  recapitulation  he  may  leave  out  one  or  two  links 
which  help  to  build  up  the  mental  processes  which  lead  to 
desire.  The  very  fact  of  being  disturbed  makes  the  customer 
forget  for  the  time  being  what  the  salesman  has  been  saying, 
and  a  repetition  in  very  brief  outline  of  the  argument  so  far 
developed  is  usually  a  wise  precaution. 

Salesmen  calling  on  the  retail  trade  will  frequently  receive 
a  curt  reply  that  the  merchant  is  too  busy  to  talk,  especially 
when  the  visits  are  made  at  frequent  intervals.  In  such  a  case 
there  is  nothing  to  do  but  to  reply  cheerfully,  “All  right,  I  will 
call  again  when  I  am  around  this  way  next  week.  Hope  to 
find  you  at  liberty  then.”  A  cheerful  response  of  this  kind 
usually  makes  the  merchant  feel  a  trifle  ashamed  of  his  discour¬ 
tesy  or  abruptness  and  the  next  time  the  salesman  calls  he  is 
given  a  more  genial  reception. 


OPENING  THE  INTERVIEW 


81 


Handling  the  Bad-Tempered  Customer _ Notwithstand¬ 

ing  careful  practice  in  the  art  of  approaching  a  customer, 
a  salesman  may  still  be  so  unfortunate  as  to  impress  the  buyer 
unfavorably  without  being  in  any  way  to  blame.  The  prospect 
may  be  in  bad  humor,  bis  digestion  may  not  be  working  satis¬ 
factorily,  or  other  conditions  wholly  beyond  the  control  of  the 
salesman  may  be  responsible  for  an  ungracious  reception. 
Whatever  the  cause,  when  the  buyer  reveals  a  hostile  mood 
the  salesman  should  not  allow  that  ill-tempered  reception  to 
modify  his  own  attitude.  A  bad-tempered  greeting  does  not 
imply  dislike  of  the  salesmen,  it  is  quite  impersonal  and  merely 
indicates  that  the  prospect  is  feeling  bad-tempered  with  things 
in  general.  Ill  humor  can  often  be  dissipated  when  it  is 
cheerfully  ignored.  The  salesman  should  continue  his  demon¬ 
stration  as  if  completely  unaware  that  the  buyer  is  not  in  the 
right  frame  of  mind  to  give  him  close  attention. 

Whether  or  not  the  sullen  buyer  can  be  placated  will 
depend  upon  the  skill  shown  in  winning  his  interest  to  such 
a  degree  that  he  forgets  his  ill  humor.  A  prospect  who  is 
obviously  in  a  state  of  mental  irritation  cannot  be  led  to  the 
stage  of  interest.  Mental  irritability  makes  the  buyer  more 
or  less  incompetent  to  concentrate  his  mind  on  the  offer  which 
is  about  to  be  placed  before  him.  If  he  starts  with  a  prejudice 
against  this  offer  and  then  refuses  to  give  it  the  consideration 
it  deserves,  his  irritability  quickly  degenerates  into  annoyance. 
If  this  unfortunate  stage  is  reached  it  may  be  advisable  for 
the  salesman  to  leave,  postponing  the  matter  for  the  time. 

Never  Apologize  for  Taking  Up  a  Prospect’s  Time. — A 

salesman  should  never  apologize  either  by  word  or  manner 
for  taking  up  a  prospect’s  time.  As  before  stated,  his  visit 
is  as  much  for  the  buyer’s  benefit  as  his  own,  and  his  attitude 
should  reveal  this  fact.  The  salesman  who  enters  a  customer’s 
presence  with  an  apology  for  breaking  in  or  who  in  any  way 


82 


•  PRINCIPLES  OF  SALESMANSHIP 


implies  by  his  manner  that  he  is  mentally  apologetic,  will  fail 
to  secure  that  undivided  favorable  attention  which  must  precede 
the  awakening  of  interest  and  desire.  The  salesman  should 
assume  that  when  the  prospect  is  ready  to  be  interviewed  he 
is  also  ready  to  give  all  the  time  necessary. 

When,  however,  the  buyer  takes  the  lead  himself  and  ex¬ 
plains  that  for  certain  reasons  he  is  rushed  or  that  he  has 
little  time  to  spare  because  he  has  to  leave,  it  is  then  polite 
for  the  salesman  to  apologize  with  such  a  remark  as,  “I  am 
sorry  to  arrive  at  such  an  inopportune  moment,  but  since  you 
are  so  busy  I  will  make  my  story  as  brief  as  possible.”  Even 
here,  however,  the  apology  is  not  for  taking  up  a  customer’s 
time,  but  for  calling  upon  him  at  an  inopportune  moment. 

The  Use  of  a  Business  Card. — If  the  salesman  represents 
a  well-known  house  with  a  reputation  behind  it,  which  is  in 
itself  an  asset  in  gaining  an  opening,  it  would  be  obviously 
advisable  to  send  in  his  card  to  a  prospect  on  whom  he  calls 
for  the  first  time.  Where,  however,  the  name  of  the  firm 
conveys  little  to  the  prospective  customer  and  the  salesman 
must  depend  wholly  upon  the  merits  of  his  offer  and  his  own 
personality  in  making  a  sale,  it  is  preferable  to  dispense  with 
the  card  so  that  the  attention  of  the  buyer  is  wholly  concen¬ 
trated  on  the  salesman.  It  is  much  easier  to  say  “No,”  “Too 
busy,”  or  to  make  a  similar  excuse  while  inspecting  a  piece  of 
pasteboard  than  when  directly  confronting  the  salesman. 

Many  salesmen  make  a  practice  of  placing  a  card  on  the 
desk  in  front  of  a  prospect  or  of  .handing  it  to  him  at  the 
time  they  make  known  the  nature  of  their  business.  The 
advantage  of  this  method  is  that  it  creates  a  double  impression 
on  the  mind  of  the  buyer;  a  disadvantage  is  that  more  attention 
may  be  given  to  the  card  than  to  the  salesman.  Whether  or 
not  a  card  should  be  used  will  depend  largely  upon  the  per¬ 
sonality  of  the  salesman  and  the  nature  of  his  business.  Sales- 


OPENING  THE  INTERVIEW 


83 


man  may  often  leave  a  business  card  at  the  termination  of  the 
interview  for  the  customer  to  file  or  a  reminder  of  the  salesman 
and  his  offering.  It  is  a  question  every  salesman  must  decide 
for  himself. 

When  to  Shake  Hands. — The  hearty  handshake  is  consid¬ 
ered  an  invariable  part  of  a  salesman’s  greeting.  If  friendly 
relations  have  already  been  established,  the  hand,  of  course, 
will  be  offered  and  cordially  shaken.  When  approaching  a 
stranger  or  a  prospect  who  has  not  yet  favored  the  salesman 
with  an  order,  although  a  perfunctory  acquaintanceship  may 
have  been  established,  it  is  not  wise  to  offer  to  shake  hands. 
Prospective  customers  do  not  as  a  rule  gladly  welcome  the 
presence  of  a  man  who  politely  insists  upon  their  listening  to 
an  explanation  of  his  offering.  Sometimes  they  even  view  his 
effort  to  gain  their  presence  as  an  intrusion,  although  they 
may  admire  his  persistence. 

When,  therefore,  an  interview  is  granted,  if  the  salesman 
effusively  offers  his  hand,  this  in  a  sense  commits  a  customer 
to  at  least  placing  the  salesman  on  a  friendly,  as  distinguished 
from  a  purely  business,  footing.  A  proffered  handshake  may 
never  be  refused,  but  in  the  case  of  the  taciturn  and  reserved 
or  the  cold  and  cautious  type  of  customer,  the  handshake  will 
tend  rather  to  accentuate  than  to  diminish  reserve  and  caution. 
Where  previous  correspondence  has  in  any  way  established 
an  acquaintanceship,  a  salesman  may  perhaps  offer  to  shake 
hands;  but  a  safer  rule  to  follow  is  to  wait  until  a  prospect 
offers  his  own  hand  before  the  salesman  offers  his. 

The  Retail  Interview. — The  approach  of  the  retail  sales¬ 
person  to  a  shopper  who  has  just  entered  the  store  requires 
special  consideration  at  this  point. 

The  customer  who  enters  in  a  businesslike  way  obviously 
comes  in  with  one  of  two  objects  in  mind — either  to  buy  cer- 


84 


PRINCIPLES  OF  SALESMANSHIP 


tain  goods  or  to  inspect  them.  If  the  salesman  is  unoccupied 
he  should  at  once  acknowledge  the  shopper’s  presence  either 
by  stepping  forward  or,  if  he  is  behind  the  counter,  by  moving 
a  step  in  the  customer’s  direction.  The  opening  remark  may 
be,  “What  may  I  do  for  you  today?”  or  it  may  be  merely, 
“Good  morning,”  or  “Good  afternoon,”  with  the  adjunct  of 
“Sir,”  or  “Madam,”  as  the  case  may  require.  When  the 
customer  is  known  he  or  she  should,  of  course,  be  addressed 
by  name.  But  as  in  the  majority  of  cases  the  shopper  is  a 
stranger,  it  is  far  more  polite  to  show  the  slight  deference 
signified  by  the  words  “Sir”  or  “Madam”  than  to  address  a 
nameless  and  indefinite  person.  Under  no  circumstances 
should  any  other  form  of  address  be  substituted  for  either  of 
these  two  words.  “What  may  I  do  for  you,  ‘Mister,’  or 
‘Ma’am,’  or  ‘Lady,’  ”  are  provincialisms  used  by  those  who 
wrongly  imagine  that  the  use  of  the  words  “Sir”  or  “Madam” 
denotes  servility.  No  person  of  any  education  or  breeding 
fails  to  use  the  word  “Madam”  when  addressing  a  woman 
whose  name  is  unknown.  If  this  is  the  custom  in  the  society 
of  those  who  pay  attention  to  the  finer  shades  of  manners  and 
courtesy,  it  surely  befits  the  retail  salesperson  to  adopt  the 
same  form  of  address. 

Helping  the  Retail  Customer  Who  Is  “Looking  Around.” 

— Unless  a  desire  is  shown  to  wander  about  and  inspect  the 
stock,  the  salesman  may  take  it  for  granted  that  the  customer 
requires  his  services.  When  customers  come  into  a  store  with¬ 
out  any  definite  intention  of  buying,  they  should  not  be  made 
to  feel  that  they  are  under  any  obligation  to  do  so.  Such  a 
type  of  customer  is  usually  of  the  feminine  gender  and  quickly 
reveals  her  lack  of  purpose  by  the  indefinite  air  with  which  she 
gazes  around  the  store.  She  is  usually  best  left  to  her  own 
devices;  any  insistence  will  frequently  lead  to  her  rapid  depar¬ 
ture  from  the  department  or  the  store.  All  that  the  retail 


OPENING  THE  INTERVIEW 


85 


salesman  can  safely  do  to  gain  her  attention  is  some  such 
inquiry  as,  “May  I  be  of  service  to  you,  Madam?”  If  the 
customer  replies  that  she  is  “just  looking  around,”  the  salesman 
may  add  that  it  would  be  a  pleasure  to  give  her  information 
about  anything  that  interests  her.  The  object  is  to  gain  the 
expression  of  a  definite  want  or  desire. 

How  to  Handle  More  Than  One  Retail  Customer. — If 

when  the  salesperson  is  waiting  upon  one  customer  another 
approaches,  one  of  three  methods  may  be  adopted  :  ( 1 )  another 
salesperson  is  summoned;  (2)  the  customer’s  presence  is 
acknowledged  but  the  interview  postponed;  or  (3)  both  cus¬ 
tomers  are  waited  on  at  the  same  time.  If  another  sales¬ 
person  can  be  summoned  to  attend  to  the  customer,  so  much 
the  better.  A  well-organized  store  usually  adopts  a  system 
whereby  each  salesperson  waits  on  customers  in  turn. 

If  no  other  employee  is  available,  then  the  presence  of  the 
customer  must  be  acknowledged  by  such  a  remark  as,  “I  will 
be  at  your  service  in  a  moment,  Madam” — but  only  if  the 
purchase  which  the  first  customer  is  making  is  such  that  the 
salesman  believes  his  services  will  soon  be  available.  This 
may  be  safely  presumed  if  the  purchase  of  the  present  customer 
is  of  comparatively  small  value  and  does  not  require  much  time 
in  its  selection. 

The  third  course  is  to  wait  upon  both  customers  at  once. 
This,  however,  can  be  safely  done  only  when  a  purchase  which 
demands  time  and  care  in  making  a  selection  is  under  con¬ 
sideration.  Care  must  be  taken  not  to  neglect  one  customer 
in  favor  of  another.  But  if  one  customer  is  inspecting  dif¬ 
ferent  pieces  of  dress  goods  or  buying  an  article  which  demands 
careful  consideration  before  a  final  decision  is  reached,  then 
an  expert  salesperson  can  safely  wait  upon  two  or  even  three 
customers  at  once.  In  such  a  case  a  customer  often  prefers 
to  be  left  alone  in  making  the  choice  rather  than  feel  that  the 


86 


PRINCIPLES  OF  SALESMANSHIP 


salesperson  is  expectantly  awaiting  a  final  decision.  There¬ 
fore,  by  serving  two  or  more  customers  at  the  same  time  the 
salesperson  allows  each  to  make  a  careful  inspection  and  trial 
of  the  stock  without  in  any  way  hurrying  them  in  the  pleasant 
task  of  shopping.  To  please  customers  is  the  first  considera¬ 
tion  of  the  retail  salesperson. 


CHAPTER  IX 


METHODS  OF  AROUSING  INTEREST 

9  '' 

The  Nature  of  Interest. — Interest  as  contrasted  with 
Attention  is  a  more  intense  concentration  upon  the  more 
striking  or  unusual  features  of  the  salesman’s  offering.  Con¬ 
trasted  with  Desire,  Interest  is  a  general  state  of  mind  as  dis¬ 
tinguished  from  a  specific  feeling  of  personal  longing.  In 
other  words,  Interest  is  the  midway  stage  between  Attention 
and  Desire.  As  attention  to  the  salesman  becomes  undivided 
it  is  already  shading  into  interest  in  his  offering.  When  the 
buyer’s  mind  progresses  into  a  tendency  to  see  that  the  offering 
is  certainly  of  value  to  a  great  many  people,  interest  is  well 
established,  and  as  that  general  appreciation  becomes  centered 
on  the  value  of  the  offering  to  oneself  the  stage  of  desire  is 
being  entered.  Our  immediate  problem  is  how  to  lead  the 
prospect  from  undivided  attention  to  well-established  interest 
that  is  ready  to  be  focused  in  personal  and  specific  desire. 

The  Concentrative  Principle. — In  arousing  interest  the 
salesman  must  constantly  narrow  the  prospect’s  field  of  thought 
and  vision,  directing  his  mind  more  and  more  closely  to  the 
conclusion,  “This  is  worth  My  while.”  The  procedure  is 
from  the  general  to  the  particular ;  for  instance,  a  wholesale 
salesman  shows  an  electrician  a  new  electrical  appliance,  mani¬ 
festly  of  advantage  to  some  electricians,  in  fact  of  value  to  a 
great  many,  and  as  the  demonstration  proceeds  the  appliance  is 
more  and  more  clearly  seen  to  be  of  value  to  this  particular 
electrician.  Again,  a  specialty  salesman  of  aluminum  ware  on 

87 


88 


PRINCIPLES  OF  SALESMANSHIP 


commencing  his  sales  talk  knows  that  the  housewife  will  grant 
its  value  to  a  great  many  people.  His  task  is  to  limit  her  more 
and  more  closely  to  her  own  experience  and  her  own  welfare, 
so  that  instead  of  thinking  how  useful  this  ware  would  be  to 
everyone  else,  she  is  only  concerned  with  its  especial  and 
particular  usefulness  to  her  own  self. 

The  Means  of  Concentration. — The  closer  the  attention 
the  more  quickly  the  interest  is  aroused.  An  appeal  directed 
to  two  senses  is  certainly  stronger  than  an  appeal  made  to  but 
one;  attention  is  less  divided  if  eye  and  ear  are  both  engaged. 
Hence  the  demonstration  of  an  offering  is  highly  desirable. 
Enthusiasm,  too,  is  indispensable.  With  these  must  be  com¬ 
bined  an  adroit  judgment  that  determines  which  talking  points 
and  which  aspects  of  the  offering  will  most  surely  and  directly 
center  the  prospect’s  mind  on  the  value  of  the  offering  to 
himself. 

Methods  of  Demonstration. — The  most  obvious  use  of 
demonstration  involves  the  use  of  samples  that  show  the  goods 
themselves  rendering  their  services.  The  special  points  of 
superiority  can  be  emphasized  by  demonstration  in  a  multitude 
of  cases,  including  many  that  on  first  thought  do  not  seem 
well  adapted  for  such  purposes. 

A  cutlery  salesman  who  calls  on  the  hardware  trade  in¬ 
variably  introduces  himself  to  a  prospect  by  asking:  “May 
I  borrow  a  short  piece  of  copper  wire  for  a  moment,  please?” 
On  receiving  the  wire  he  opens  his  sample  case,  takes  out  a 
pair  of  shears,  and  cuts  the  wire  in  two.  Passing  the  shears 
over  for  the  merchant’s  inspection  he  says:  “You  notice  that 
they  are  not  marked  at  all.  Now  isn’t  that  the  kind  of  shears 
you  want  to  offer  to  your  trade?  It’s  just  a  sample  of  my 
whole  line.”  Then  without  any  more  ado  he  begins  to  spread 
out  his  line  on  the  retailer’s  counter. 


METHODS  OF  AROUSING  INTEREST  89 

A  utility  article  can  often  be  demonstrated  in  one  way 
or  another.  Foods  and  drinks  also  lend  themselves  readily 
to  such  a  physical  demonstration. 

A  salesman  representing  a  bakery,  after  calling  a  number  of 
times  on  a  provision  store  dealer  without  success,  determined 
to  try  to  interest  him  by  a  demonstration.  On  his  next  visit 
he  took  with  him  a  loaf  of  bread  daintily  wrapped  in  a  napkin 
and  packed  in  a  collapsible  carton  with  a  small  jar  of  honey  and 
a  sharp  knife.  He  entered  the  store  just  before  lunch  hour 
when  appetite  is  at  its  keenest.  Walking  to  the  rear  where 
the  proprietor’s  desk  stood,  he  unpacked  the  carton  on  the 
counter,  cut  the  loaf  of  bread  into  thin  slices  and  spread 
two  or  three  with  honey.  Handing  a  slice  to  the  proprietor 
he  said :  “I  have  brought  you  a  nutritious  lunch.  Just  try  that 
bread  and  tell  me  if  you  don’t  think  it’s  the  best  flavored 
loaf  you  ever  tasted.”  He  then  passed  several  slices  to  the 
clerks  in  the  store  who  were  unoccupied  with  customers  and 
asked  for  their  opinions  also.  He  ate  two  or  three  slices 
with  huge  relish  himself  and  with  ejaculations  between  mouth¬ 
fuls  to  the  effect,  “Isn’t  this  fine?”  “Did  you  ever  taste  such 
bread  as  this?”  All  agreed  that  it  was  indeed  very  fine  bread 
— the  best  they’d  ever  tasted.  The  impression  created  by  this 
enthusiastic  demonstration  gave  the  salesman  the  opportunity 
to  talk  business  that  he  had  previously  ineffectually  sought. 

Demonstration  in  the  Retail  Store. — The  retail  salesman 
can  use  similar  methods  to  great  advantage.  Manufacturers 
frequently  send  trained  demonstrators  to  large  retail  stores 
to  demonstrate  a  particular  article  as  a  means  of  catching 
the  eye  and  stimulating  the  interest  of  both  customers  and  of 
persons  who  are  merely  looking  around.  The  demand  for  a 
novelty,  such  as  a  new  cosmetic  of  special  virtues,  a  new  song, 
or  anything  with  a  touch  of  originality  is  invariably  stimulated 
in  this  way.  These  demonstrations  are  frequently  made  with 


j 


9° 


PRINCIPLES  OF  SALESMANSHIP 


the  object  of  collecting  a  crowd,  but  it  is  just  as  practical  to 
demonstrate  in  this  way  to  a  single  customer. 

In  the  grocery  store,  for  instance,  the  appeal  of  almost 
everything  can  be  accentuated  merely  by  suggesting  that  the 
customer  taste  it.  At  the  perfumery  counter  perfume  can  be 
sprayed  on  a  customer’s  handkerchief ;  at  the  stationery  counter 
the  fountain  pen  salesman  can  ask  his  customers  to  write  with 
a  pen,  to  test  the  feel  of  a  certain  quality  of  note  paper  or  the 
tensile  strength  of  commercial  writing  paper;  and  so  on  with 
a  wide  variety  of  goods. 

The  demonstration  method  is  a  practical  application  of 
theory.  In  addition  the  customer’s  being  told,  he  is  shown 
what  the  goods  will  do.  An  appeal  to  the  eye  is  always 
more  potent  in  its  effect  than  appeal  to  the  ear,  and  an  appeal 
to  the  palate  is  in  suitable  cases  the  most  powerful  appeal  of 
all. 

Wearing  apparel,  books,  kitchen  utensils,  foodstuffs,  tools, 
musical  instruments,  furniture,  machinery,  and  a  number  of 
other  commodities  lend  themselves  so  naturally  to  the  demon¬ 
stration  method  of  arousing  interest  as  to  need  no  illustration 
here. 

Special  Applications  of  Demonstration. — Other  wares 
perhaps  deserve  more  extended  consideration  as  suggestive  of 
the  possibilities  of  the  demonstrative  method. 

One  wholesale  salesman  of  all  kinds  of  glassware  makes 
a  practice  as  soon  as  he  enters  a  store  in  which  he  is  unknown, 
of  buying  an  ordinary  lamp  chimney. 

•“Don’t  trouble  to  wrap  it  up,”  he  says  to  the  proprietor, 
and  picks  up  the  chimney  and  rolls  it  along  the  floor.  When 
it  strikes  against  some  object  it  naturally  breaks  into  pieces. 
Without  a  word  he  takes  a  chimney  from  his  sample  case  and 
puts  it  to  a  similar  test.  His  own  chimney  stands  the  ordeal 
without  even  cracking.  He  then  turns  to  the  astounded  prop- 


METHODS  OF  AROUSING  INTEREST 


91 


rietor  and  says,  “A  lamp  chimney  which  will  stand  such  a 
severe  test  as  that  is  the  kind  that  will  have  a  long  life  and 
is  the  kind  that  keeps  your  customers  satisfied.  I’d  like,  Mr 
Blank,  to  show  you  my  complete  line.”  Such  a  method  natur¬ 
ally  interests  the  prospect  and  at  once  brings  him  to  con¬ 
centrated  interest — a  wish  to  see  whether  he  cannot  profit  by 
investing  in  at  least  some  of  the  kinds  of  glassware  this 
salesman  carries. 

An  encyclopedia  salesman  after  winning  his  interview,  at 
once  opens  the  interview  by  plunging  into  his  actual  sales  talk 
with  the  question,  “Mr.  Blank,  which  state  in  the  Union  con¬ 
tains  the  most  coal?”  The  prospect  either  replies,  “Why 
Pennsylvania,  I  suppose,”  or  else  admits  some  doubt.  The 
salesman  then  opens  his  sample,  or  prospectus,  and  says,  “Colo¬ 
rado;  here  is  the  list  of  coal-bearing  states,  showing  the  analy¬ 
tical  report  of  the  leading  authorities.”  From  this  general 
demonstration  he  quickly  leads  to  discussion  of  topics  of  special 
and  particular  interest  to  the  prospect. 

The  wholesale  salesman  of  electrical  appliances  takes  an 
electric  iron  apart,  showing  the  excellence  of  construction;  a 
paper  salesman  clipped  an  eyelet  through  a  sheet  of  paper  and 
hung  a  heavy  weight  from  it,  showing  the  strength  of  that 
quality  of  “bond”  stock.  A  fruit  jar  salesman  lit  a  piece  of 
paper,  dropped  it  into  the  jar,  and  clamped  on  the  lid.  While 
doing  so  he  explained  that  the  contraction  of  the  air,  as  it 
cooled  would  hold  the  top  firmly  in  place.  The  paper  soon 
burned  out;  the  lid  was  firmly  held.  “Now,”  the  salesman 
said,  “this  bit  of  paper  does  not  produce  the  heat  that  hot 
fruit  does,  yet  notice  how  even  this  little  heat  suffices  to  hold 
the  lid  fast.”  Trying  the  lid,  the  buyer  would  be  surprised 
and  convinced.  Naturally  sales  went  up. 

Demonstrating  Intangible  Offerings. — No  words  of  the 
salesman  can  emphasize  the  value  of  a  commodity  so  effec- 


92 


PRINCIPLES  OF  SALESMANSHIP 


tively  as  a  demonstration.  “That  is  all  well  enough  if  one 
is  selling  tangible  goods,”  you  may  say,  “but  how  about  selling 
intangible  things  such  as  insurance?”  Of  course  one  cannot 
demonstrate  the  intangible  in  precisely  the  same  manner,  yet 
even  in  such  cases  it  is  possible  to  give  a  vivid  and  demonstra¬ 
tive  impression. 

In  selling  life  insurance  a  salesman  lays  a  tabulated  state¬ 
ment  before  his  prospect,  saying,  “You  were  26  on  your  last 

birthday.  These  figures  show  exactly  what . dollars  a 

year  will  mean  to  you  twenty  years  from  now.”  The  interest 
aroused  is  practically  that  aroused  by  the  demonstration  of  an 
article. 

In  all  such  cases  it  is  very  frequently  effective  to  get  the 
prospect  to  take  part  in  the  demonstration.  Get  him  to  work 
out  the  profit  of  an  investment  for  himself.  Put  a  pencil 
in  his  hand,  dictate  the  figures  to  him,  let  him  do  the  calcula¬ 
tions  and  then  check  them  up.  He  cannot  help  taking  a  very 
active  interest  in  the  process  and  is  consequently  being  brought 
into  closer  contact  with  the  whole  proposition. 

Diagrams,  sketches,  photographs,  and  maps  are  all  of  ex¬ 
treme  importance  in  selling  not  only  real  estate  but  in  the  sale 
of  many  other  offerings.  A  jeweler  in  selling  rings  exhibits 
samples  but  makes  sketches  as  well,  so  as  to  determine  the  pre¬ 
cise  tastes  and  interests  of  his  prospect.  An  advertising  sales¬ 
man  who  is  deft  with  pencil  and  brush  always  carries  a  sketch 
pad  and  water-color  box  in  his  pocket  and  even  a  small  bottle 
of  water.  Sitting  in  a  prospect’s  office  he  comments  on  the  at¬ 
tractiveness  of  some  feature  of  the  plant,  the  environs,  or  the 
commodity  to  be  advertised.  As  he  speaks  he  skilfully  “lines 
in”  a  neat  sketch  of  some  detail  he  mentions.  His  workman¬ 
ship  is  so  clean-cut  that  it  invariably  elicits  surprise  and  pleas¬ 
ure.  Again  and  again  he  has  sold  a  customer  a  label,  a  poster, 
a  catalog,  a  cover  design  for  a  booklet,  or  something  of  the 
sort  before  the  man  has  grasped  the  full  force  of  the  transac- 


METHODS  OF  AROUSING  INTEREST 


93 


tion.  And  of  course  this  salesman  is  far  too  able  to  leave 
the  matter  at  that  point.  He  stays  until  he  has  built  up  absolute 
confidence  in  the  merits  of  the  sale,  refusing  to  let  the  enthus¬ 
iasm  of  the  moment  die  away  into  misgiving  and  doubt. 

Enthusiasm. — The  preceding  example  leads  to  a  consider¬ 
ation  of  the  second  great  factor  in  arousing  interest.  Interest 
in  the  prospect  is  a  fire  that  must  be  well  kindled.  The  sales¬ 
man’s  own  sincere  admiration  of  his  offering  and  enthusiasm 
for  its  use  is  the  match  that  lights  the  fire  of  the  prospect’s 
interest.  The  fuel  that  keeps  that  fire  burning  is  the  unques¬ 
tionable  worth  of  the  offering.  As  this  worth  is  seen  to  be 
of  particular  and  personal  importance  to  the  prospect,  the  fire 
is  burning  with  desire  as  well  as  interest. 

The  Salesman’s  Enthusiasm — If  the  salesman’s  action  is 
apathetic,  the  prospect’s  reaction  is  indifference.  If  the  sales¬ 
man’s  action  is  earnestly  enthusiastic,  the  prospect’s  reaction 
is  confident  interest.  If  the  salesman’s  action  is  exaggerated 
and  wildly  enthusiastic,  the  prospect’s'  reaction  is  skepticism 
and  caution.  Accordingly,  the  amount  of  earnest  enthusiasm 
with  which  a  salesman  presents  his  offering  is  some  gauge 
of  the  amount  of  interest  that  the  prospect  will  display. 

The  retail  salesman  who  gloomily  flops  a  shirt  on  the 
counter  and  then  looks  away  across  the  store  depresses  the 
customer  beyond  hope.  The  salesman  who  dexterously  yet 
quietly  lays  a  shirt  on  the  counter  and  calls  attention  to  its 
weave,  cut,  pattern,  and  make,  with  assured  fondness  for  it, 
is  focusing  intensely  the  prospect’s  interest.  “Handle  the 
goods  as  though  you  loved  them,’’  is  an  injunction  that  is 
common  among  able  sales  managers.  If  the  salesman  cannot, 
with  all  his  knowledge  of  his  wares,  find  qualities  to  admire 
and  delight  in,  then  the  commodities  he  is  selling  must  be  poor 
indeed. 


94 


PRINCIPLES  OF  SALESMANSHIP 


The  Prospect’s  Enthusiasm. — The  feeling  of  wonder  is 
universal.  Some  display  it  more  readily  than  others;  some 
give  way  to  it  while  others  tend  to  resist  it.  But  it  is  there 
in  every  man,  woman,  and  child.  Rouse  it  and  you  rouse  in¬ 
terest.  Furthermore,  the  instinct  of  imitation  is  also  strong 
within  most  of  us.  And  curiosity  co-operates  with  imitation 
in  helping  the  salesman  to  stir  wonder  and  interest. 

The  salesman  who  broke  the  lamp  chimney  excited  curios¬ 
ity  ;  then  by  showing  the  tougher  chimney  he  summoned 
wonder  to  his  aid;  interest  was  then  inevitable.  So,  too,  the 
salesman  of  the  encyclopedia  with  his  coal  question,  and  the 
fruit  jar  man  with  his  burning  paper,  roused  wonder  and 
therefore  interest.  The  advertising  man  first  stirred  curiosity 
with  his  pencil  and  paper;  wonder  at  his  deftness  followed; 
then  came  wonder  at  his  skill  in  utilizing  some  local  detail 
as  a  subject  for  a  clever  sketch;  and  finally  wonder  at  his 
ability  in  dealing  with  a  topic  of  personal  and  immediate  value 
to  the  prospect.  His  capture  of  interest  and  his  dexterity  in 
concentrating  it  on  a  particular  prospect’s  needs  was  based  on 
wonder. 

Interest  and  the  Line  of  Normality. — But  wonder  and 
interest  tend  to  die  away;  once  we  become  familiar  with  an 

idea  or  an  object  we  usually 
cease  to  be  interested  in  it 
unless  there  are  personal 
reasons.  When  a  person 
becomes  keenly  interested  he 
does  things  that  he  probably 
would  never  think  of  doing 
under  normal  conditions. 

The  salesman  must  keep  this  point  in  mind  when  he  is 
exciting  a  prospect’s  interest;  the  emotions  that  he  is  stimulat¬ 
ing  are  more  and  more  interfering  with  the  purely  logical  and 


METHODS  OF  AROUSING  INTEREST 


95 

intellectual  processes  of  thought;  the  prospect  is  becoming  un¬ 
balanced. 

Let  the  horizontal  line  in  the  diagram  represent  the  pros¬ 
pect’s  normal  state  of  mind;  the  condition  in  which  he  calmly 
views  and  reviews  the  happenings  about  him;  the  mood  in 
which  he  habitually  calculates,  reflects,  and  judges.  The 
curved  line  above  the  line  of  normality  represents  an  exhilar¬ 
ated  state  of  mind.  The  more  pleasantly  he  is  affected  the 
higher  the  curve  ascends.  If  he  is  easily  excited,  the  curve 
ascends  more  abruptly;  if  stolid  and  phlegmatic,  more  gradu¬ 
ally.  The  curve  below  the  line  of  normality  represents  a 
depressed  state  of  mind,  such  as  results  from  disappointment 
or  annoyance.  In  either  case,  the  greater  the  emotion  the 
greater  the  distance  of  the  peak  from  the  line  of  normality. 
The  able  salesman,  under  ordinary  conditions,  produces  a  curve 
of  interest  or  exhilaration  above  the  line ;  the  weak  or  clumsy 
or  indifferent  salesman  produces  instead  a  depressed  curve. 

A  poor  approach  leads  downward  and  the  prospect  at  once 
begins  considering  how  to  get  rid  of  the  salesman.  True,  the 
prospect  may  regret  his  dismissal  when  he  gets  back  to  his 
normal  frame  of  mind,  but  the  salesman  has  none  the  less 
lost  the  order. 

Or  again,  the  salesman  by  the  sheer  force  of  . his  enthusiasm 
may  so  exhilarate  the  prospect  that  he  is  emotionally  carried 
to  the  buying  point;  but  as  this  is  effected  through  the  force 
of  emotion  rather  than  reason,  the  buyer  on  subsiding  to  nor¬ 
mality  will  view  the  purchase  from  that  level  and  then  will 
entertain  doubts  of  its  wisdom.  If  the  exhilaration  and  en¬ 
thusiasm  resulted  from  exaggerated  statement  or  undue  pres¬ 
sure,  the  buyer,  realizing  that  he  was  illogical,  will  be  dissatis¬ 
fied,  and  being  human  will  blame  the  salesman. 

Yet  this  ascendant  emotional  curve  is  desirable,  for  en¬ 
thusiasm  in  the  prospect  is  essential.  Hence  measures  must 
be  taken  to  insure  that  the  buyer  look  back  on  the  purchase 


96 


PRINCIPLES  OF  SALESMANSHIP 


with  satisfaction.  In  the  second  diagram  shown,  note  the 
uprights  that  have  been  added.  These  represent  sound  reasons 
for  the  purchase;  they  are  supported  by  the  normal  state  of 
mind.  When  these  are  added  the  buyer  can  look  back  at  his 
purchase,  admit  that  he  certainly  was  enthusiastic  when  he 
made  that  purchase,  yet  likewise  perceive  willingly  enough  that 
his  enthusiasm  was  justified  and  well  founded. 

The  advertising  salesman  whose  sketches  made  on  the  spot 
secured  him  enthusiasm  was  careful,  as  we  have  seen,  not  to 
leave  immediately  upon  receiving  an  order,  but  stayed  to 
build  up  confidence  in  that  purchase.  He  ascertained  each 
topic  to  be  used  in  the  advertisement,  discussed  the  various 
modifications,  sketched  various  modes  of  treatment,  and  so 
established  as  supports  not  only  particular  and  detailed  sales 
arguments,  but  also  the  confidence  of  the  buyer  in  the  sales¬ 
man,  in  the  firm  he  represented,  and  in  their  ability  to  produce 
what  he  himself  especially  desired. 


The  Relation  of  the  Size  of  the  Sale  to  the  Ascendant 
Curve. — The  greater  the  amount  of  money  required  for  the 
purchase,  the  less  the  curve  ascends  from  the  line  of  normality. 
Buying  a  $50,000  house  is  more  a  matter  of  logical  judgment 

than  inviting  a  friend  or 


1 


_  — • 

— 

V 

s' 

\ 


\ 


two  to  join  in  a  glass  of 
\  orangeade;  an  emotional  im¬ 
pulse  can  lead  to  a  purchase 
involving  a  comparatively  small  sum,  but  in  larger  transactions 
cool  and  considered  views  are  habitual. 

This  use  of  judgment  in  important  purchases  is  no  draw¬ 
back;  a  sale  of  any  significance,  as  we  have  seen  above,  must 
rest  firmly  upon  a  series  of  substantial  reasons.  Sometimes 
this  factor  proves  of  marked  advantage.  For  example,  a 
manufacturer  plans  to  build  a  new  factory,  the  only  salesman¬ 
ship  requisite  for  the  real  estate  agent  is  in  producing  the 


METHODS  OF  AROUSING  INTEREST 


97 


facts  about  various  lots  of  land.  When  the  manufacturer  gets 
all  the  data  before  him,  he  analyzes  them  carefully  and  decides 
which  he  will  buy.  He  is  already  not  only  in  a  buying  mood, 
but  he  has  thought  the  matter  out  intellectually  as  well  as 
emotionally.  His  decision  will  be  logical  and  unlikely  to  give 
rise  to  depression  or  doubt. 

Modes  of  Establishing  Personal  Interest. — Demonstra¬ 
tion  and  the  use  of  enthusiasm  are  the  foundations  of  interest; 
but  a  general  interest  is  not  the  aim  of  the  salesman,  he  needs 
personal  interest,  which  is  an  advance  still  further  toward 
desire.  In  some  cases  the  first  impression  of  the  offering 
affects  this,  in  others  a  special  effort  is  needed;  in  some  cases 
a  direct  statement  of  the  proposition  would  produce  a  depressed 
curve  and  the  salesman  must  stir  his  prospect  even  to  personal 
interest  by  other  means.  In  every  case  the  salesman  must  be 
prepared  through  his  preapproach  and  also  by  his  experiences 
in  the  opening  of  the  interview  to  determine  promptly  and 
adequately  what  talking  points  will  most  effectively  arouse 
the  personal  interest  of  the  prospect  in  the  offering. 

This  latter  problem  has  already  been  treated  in  preceding 
chapters  and  will  be  given  still  further  space  in  the  detailed 
consideration  of  types  of  customers  that  follows  later.  In 
the  meantime  it  is  needful  for  us  to  devote  our  attention  to  the 
modes  of  establishing  personal  interest. 

The  Simple  Straightforward  Method. — If  the  sale  is  of 
small  value,  a  simple,  straightforward  sales  talk  may  be  all  that 
is  needed  to  arouse  interest.  The  desire  for  gain,  in  the 
wholesale  field,  or  for  comfort  or  recreation  or  the  like,  in  the 
specialty  field,  will  prove  sufficient  without  need  for  special 
excitement  of  wonder.  For  example,  the  hosiery  salesman 
says  to  the  dry  goods  merchant :  “Good  morning,  Mr.  Brown, 
I  want  you  to  see  some  of  the  new  patterns  in  hose  we  have 


98 


PRINCIPLES  OF  SALESMANSHIP 


just  brought  out.  They’re  the  most  attractive  colors  and 
shades  we  have  had  for  many  seasons.” 

The  coffee  salesman  says :  “Mr.  Brown,  I  want  you  to 
stock  our  line  of  coffee  because  it  will  be  to  your  interest  to 
do  so.  You  know  there  is  a  big  repeat  demand  for  our  coffee 
because  it  pleases  the  palates  of  the  people  who  have  once  tried 
it  on  the  recommendation  of  friends  or  of  our  advertisements.” 

When  the  customer  is  already  acquainted  with  the  goods 
or  knows  the  salesman,  a  simple  description  of  his  offer  is  all 
that  is  needed.  When  both  goods  and  salesman  are  unknown, 
the  customer  must  be  offered  something  more  concrete  than 
words,  whether  this  be  samples,  a  catalog,  a  picture,  or  a 
demonstration. 

First  Impressions  Important. — If  one  of  the  features  of 
the  article  being  demonstrated  is  its  daintiness  or  purity  and 
the  sample  in  use  is  soiled  or  damaged,  an  unfavorable  impres¬ 
sion  will  be  created  which  will  check  any  awakening  interest 
A  favorable  first  impression  is  extremely  important  in  sales¬ 
manship  whether  it  is  an  impression  of  the  salesman  himself 
or  of  the  thing  he  has  to  sell.  This  is  generally  recognized 
when  the  sale  involves  a  large  expenditure  but  is  frequently 
neglected  when  the  cost  is  trifling. 

When  a  certain  real  estate  salesman  drives  a  prospect  to  a 
house  he  wishes  to  sell,  he  usually  approaches  from  the  end 
of  the  road  which  gives  the  best  possible  view,  even  if  this 
necessitates  a  lengthy  detour.  An  advertising  concern  engaged 
in  renting  billboard  space  pays  particular  attention  to  the 
important  matter  of  first  impressions.  The  exact  spot  from 
which  a  particular  board  can  be  seen  to  the  best  advantage  is 
first  located.  When  a  prospective  advertiser  is  taken  to  view 
the  “open”  boards,  the  driver  knows  to  a  foot  where  to  stop 
the  automobile.  Then  and  not  until  then  does  the  salesman 
point  out  the  board  space  offered  for  rent. 


METHODS  OF  AROUSING  INTEREST 


99 


The  most  favorable  light  for  showing  the  quality  of  fab¬ 
rics,  paper,  and  similar  goods,  should  likewise  be  chosen  before 
the  goods  are  displayed. 

Carefulness  in  Display. — The  way  in  which  the  goods  are 
handled  will  convey  an  impression  of  quality  or  inferiority. 
When  the  jewelry  salesman  displays  a  fine  necklace  or  a 
diamond  ring  he  holds  it  up  carefully  and  looks  at  it  admir¬ 
ingly.  When  he  lays  it  down  on  the  case,  it  is  placed  on  a 
velvet  pad.  The  same  principle  can  be  applied  to  ordinary 
goods.  They  should  be  handled  carefully,  thus  implying  that 
they  are  of  value.  To  toss  them  carelessly  on  the  counter 
suggests  that  they  are  not  worth  much.  Treat  them  with  the 
respect  you  feel  for  any  property  of  value;  show  not  only 
understanding  but  liking  and  admiration  by  the  way  you 
handle  them. 

A  salesman  of  bottled  pickles  has  each  bottle  in  his  sample 
case  wrapped  in  a  square  of  velvet.  As  he  takes  a  sample  out 
of  the  case  he  holds  it  carefully,  slowly  unwraps  the  covering, 
lays  it  down  on  the  counter,  and  sets  the  bottle  carefully  in  its 
center.  His  manner  suggests  the  superior  quality  of  the 
goods  and  the  velvet  on  which  the  bottle  stands  enhances  its 
appearance. 

Connecting  the  Selling  Talk  with  the  Prospect’s,  Interest. 

— When  other  methods  fail,  attention  can  sometimes  be  trans¬ 
formed  into  interest  by  linking  the  unknown  offer  with  some¬ 
thing  in  which  the  prospect  is  interested  or  with  which  he  is 
already  familiar.  The  closer  the  connecting  link  the  better. 
It  may  be  difficult  to  connect  these  interests  in  a  natural  way 
and  in  that  case  a  purely  arbitrary  connection  is  all  that  is 
possible. 

Specialty  salesmen  in  advertising  usually  meet  with  a  fair 
share  of  rebuffs.  Often  their  greatest  difficulty  is  to  secure  a 


100 


PRINCIPLES  OF  SALESMANSHIP 


hearing  in  which  they  will  have  time  to  interest  the  listener 
and  sometimes  must  catch  him  on  the  wing  as  it  were. 

A  salesman  handling  trade  paper  advertising  called  on  the 
advertising  manager  of  a  large  manufacturing  concern  whom 
he  had  failed  hitherto  to  interview.  On  this  occasion  he 
chanced  to  meet  the  prospect  in  the  vestibule  of  the  office. 

“Mr.  Denman,”  he  said,  “I  was  in  Wilson’s  shoe  store  out 
in  Medland  the  other  day  buying  a  pair  of  shoes  and  had  some 
conversation  with  him  regarding  your  line,  which  he  handles. 
He  told  me  that  you’d  built  up  quite  a  business  in  it  and  I 
learned  what  was  to  me  a  very  interesting  fact,  that  you  sell 
direct  to  dealers  through  several  branch  houses  rather  than 
through  jobbers.  It  occurred  to  me  that  our  publication  would 
be  a  very  profitable  medium  for  you  to  use  for  these  three 
reasons:  .  . 

The  salesman  tied  up  the  prospect’s  welfare  with  trade 
paper  advertising,  although  there  was  but  slight  connection 
between  the  two.  This  opening  was  sufficiently  interesting  to 
the  customer  to  make  him  willing  to  hear  what  the  salesman 
had  to  say  and  thus  it  gained  the  opportunity  to  talk  business. 

A  Name  as  the  Connecting  Link. — The  connecting  link 
may  be  only  a  name  or  a  subject  in  which  the  prospect  is 
interested,  as  in  the  following  examples,  yet  it  may  suffice  to 
gain  a  hearing. 

A  salesman  selling  loose-leaf  ledgers  approached  the  mana¬ 
ger  of  a  manufacturing  firm  in  this  way:  “Mr.  Jones,  I  under¬ 
stand  that  you  are  so  interested  in  modern  efficiency  methods 
that  you  have  engaged  Mr.  Talbot  as  efficiency  engineer.  I 
feel  quite  sure  that  you  will  be  especially  interested  in  our 
system  for  increasing  office  efficiency.” 

A  certain  insurance  salesman  after  he  has  obtained  the 
name  of  a  prospect  from  an  existing  client  invariably  opens  the 
conversation  with  the  potential  client  in  this  way :  “I  was  talk- 


METHODS  OF  AROUSING  INTEREST 


IOI 


ing  the  other  day  with  your  friend,  Mr.  Parker,  and  your  name 
came  up  in  the  conversation.  I  understand  from  him  that  you 
have  not  yet  protected  your  family  against  accident  to  your¬ 
self.  I  feel  that  under  the  circumstances  you  would  not  object 
to  my  submitting  a  proposition  that  would  fit  your  needs.” 

In  all  these  examples  the  salesman  links  his  offer  with 
somebody  or  something  in  which  the  prospect  is  already  inter¬ 
ested,  although  the  connection  may  be  comparatively  arbitrary. 

Arousing  Interest  by  Appealing  to  Curiosity. — Curiosity 
not  only  helps  somewhat  in  exciting  enthusiasm,  as  has  already 
been  pointed  out,  but  is  also  of  use  in  other  methods  of  dealing 
with  interest.  It  is  frequently  used  in  advertising;  the  “teaser” 
advertisements  which  appear  from  time  to  time  are  examples 
of  attempts  to  arouse  interest  in  this  way.  Such  advertise¬ 
ments  do  not  describe  the  thing  advertised  but  tell  the  reader 
to  watch  for  other  announcements  which  do  so.  Such  queries 
as  “Do  you  know  what  X-Tom  is?”  “See  this  space  next 
week”;  “Watch  this  space;  it  has  a  message  for  you”;  “$i,ooo 
in  gold  for  some  lucky  person.  See  next  week’s  ‘Bludgeon’  ” 
— these  are  all  teaser  advertisements  designed  to  arouse  the 
curiosity  of  the  reader  to  such  a  degree  that  he  will  be  suf¬ 
ficiently  interested  to  investigate  further.  While  this  method 
is  rarely  applicable  to  salesmanship,  it  can,  in  some  cases,  be 
used  with  good  effort. 

An  Example  of  an  Appeal  to  Curiosity. — A  salesman 
selling  toilet  goods  to  drug  stores  had  tried  on  several  occasions 
to  secure  an  order  from  a  large  store  in  an  important  Pacific 
Coast  town.  He  made  repeated  attempts  to  awaken  the  inter¬ 
est  of  the  buyer,  who  in  this  case  happened  to  be  the  daughter 
of  the  proprietor.  After  several  failures  he  decided  to  adopt 
different  tactics.  The  next  time  he  visited  the  store  he 
approached  her  hurriedly  and,  with  a  smile,  said : 


102 


PRINCIPLES  OF  SALESMANSHIP 


“Sorry,  I  have  to  catch  a  train  in  a  few  minutes  and  haven’t 
time  to  show  you  a  special  sample  I  have  with  me.  I  will 
surely  come  in  and  see  you  again  on  my  next  trip  and  I  want 
you  to  keep  this  to  remember  me  by,”  and  he  handed  her  a 
small  souvenir  powderpuff.  On  his  next  trip  he  again 
approached  the  buyer  in  the  same  way,  saying:  “Too  bad,  I 
brought  something  special  to  offer  you  on  this  trip,  but  I  have 
positively  to  catch  the  6:15  to  Portland  and  it’s  only  ten 
minutes  to  train  time.  I’ll  surely  give  you  plenty  of  time  on 
my  next  trip.” 

The  salesman  took  it  as  a  matter  of  course  that  the  buyer 
was  perfectly  willing  to  inspect  his  samples  and  by  this  time 
the  young  lady  began  to  reveal  curiosity.  When  he  visited 
her  the  third  time  he  had  no  difficulty  in  securing  permission 
to  show  his  samples.  Her  interest  had  been  aroused. 

The  Flank  Approach. — It  must  be  acknowledged  that  to 
some  customers  a  certain  offer  may  be  very  much  like  a  red 
rag  to  a  bull.  The  mere  mention  of  the  salesman’s  business 
is  sufficient  to  cause  such  an  expression  of  indifference  or 
opposition  to  appear  in  the  face  of  the  prospect  that  it  subdues 
the  courage  of  all  but  the  most  experienced  and  pertinacious 
of  salesmen.  When  approaching  a  customer  known  to  be 
antagonistic  it  may  be  expedient  to  advance  from  the  flank  as 
it  were,  rather  than  from  the  front. 

Most  men  are  more  or  less  indifferent  and  some  few  even 
antagonistic  to  the  appeal  of  the  life  insurance  salesman. 
Furthermore,  when  a  man  buys  life  insurance  he,  as  a  rule, 
prefers  to  do  so  from  somebody  he  knows  and  in  whom  he  has 
confidence.  For  this  reason  many  insurance  salesmen  ask 
their  clients  to  give  them  the  names  of  friends  with  the  inten¬ 
tion  of  calling  on  them.  But  before  mentioning  business  they 
frequently  make  an  effort  to  become  acquainted  with  the  pros¬ 
pect  and  when  they  succeed  limit  the  conversation  to  every-day 


METHODS  OF  AROUSING  INTEREST 


103 


affairs.  Only  after  they  have  met  casually  in  this  way  on 
several  occasions  does  the  life  insurance  salesman  broach  the 
topic  in  which  he  is  primarily  interested.  However,  this 
method  should  be  used  only  when  the  salesman  is  assured  that 
the  prospect  will  refuse  to  discuss  insurance  with  a  stranger. 

Variations  of  Flank  Approach. — A  variation  of  a  flank 
approach  is  used  by  an  insurance  salesman.  When  calling  on 
prospects  with  whom  he  is  unacquainted  and  when  he  has  not 
even  the  name  of  a  mutual  friend  to  use  as  an  introduction,  he 
introduces  the  subject  of  fire  insurance  instead  of  life  insur¬ 
ance.  Fire  insurance  is  a  necessity  universally  recognized. 
It  entails  much  less  expenditure  than  life  insurance  and  con¬ 
sequently  it  is  broached  to  more  receptive  ears.  When  the 
salesman  finds  that  the  prospect  has  already  protected  his 
property  by  fire  insurance,  as  is  usually  the  case,  he  congratu¬ 
lates  him  on  his  judgment  in  choosing  a  good  company  and 
then  swings  the  conversation  around  to  life  insurance.  This 
flank  approach  is  frequently  much  more  effective  than  a  more 
direct  method. 

The  flank  approach  can  be  made  in  a  variety  of  ways.  A 
druggist  in  a  rural  community  for  a  long  time  tried  ineffectu¬ 
ally  to  interest  the  farmers  in  the  outlying  country  in  his 
veterinary  medicines.  He  equipped  an  automobile  and  sent 
out  a  salesman  with  samples,  necessary  supplies,  and  instruc¬ 
tions  to  do  only  a  cash  trade.  The  salesman  found  that  he 
had  to  face  severe  competition  from  so-called  “medicine 
wagons.”  These  made  a  practice  of  leaving  medicines  with 
the  farmer  without  asking  for  payment  until  used  and  ap¬ 
proved.  As  a  result  their  hold  on  the  business  was  so  strong 
that  he  was  unable  to  break  in.  A  consultation  followed 
between  the  druggist  and  his  salesman  and  a  new  method  of 
approach  was  devised. 

On  his  next  trip  the  salesman  carried  with  him  a  number  of 


104 


PRINCIPLES  OF  SALESMANSHIP 


talking  machines,  sporting  goods,  china  ware,  and  other  objects 
of  special  interest  to  the  farmer  and  his  family.  He  then 
explained  to  his  prospects  that  by  saving  coupons  given  with 
all  goods  purchased  at  the  drug  store  any  of  these  premiums 
could  quickly  be  secured.  Double  value  in  coupons  would  be 
given  for  every  cash  purchase  of  a  veterinary  medicine.  In 
this  way  interest  was  readily  secured,  sales  followed,  and  the 
druggist  adhered  to  his  policy  of  doing  a  strictly  cash  business. 

Do  Not  Make  It  Easy  to  Say  “No” — No  salesman  worth 
his  salt  will  make  the  mistake  of  approaching  a  likely  customer 
with  a  negative  question  such  as:  “You  can’t  use  so  and  so, 
can  you?”  The  natural  answer  to  such  a  query  is  “No.” 
The  question,  however,  need  not  be  put  in  the  negative  to 
invite  a  negative  answer  and  thereby  a  refusal  of  the  offer. 

For  example,  “Do  you  need  this?”  or  “Do  you  need  that?” 
are  phrases  frequently  heard  in  retail  stores.  The  obvious 
answer  to  such  queries  as  these  is  “No,”  and  the  salesman 
loses  a  chance  to  introduce  an  additional  sale.  For  instance, 
a  salesman  who  has  just  sold  some  silverware  might  ask : 
“Have  you  any  silver  polish” ;  but  it  would  be  better  still  to 
say:  “Our  Peerless  Silver  Polish  will  preserve  the  luster  of 
this  article  indefinitely,”  or  some  similar  statement.  Then 
whether  the  answer  of  the  customer  is  “Yes,”  or  “No,”  or  “I 
don’t  know,”  the  salesman  can  still  proceed  to  introduce  his 
line. 

“Can  I  interest  you  in  the  purchase  of  some  aluminum 
ware?”  and  “Can  I  interest  you  in  this  set  of  books?”  are 
openings  which  invariably  receive  and  deserve  a  negative  reply. 
“Our  new  line  of  aluminum  ware  you  will  find  the  easiest 
thing  to  clean  and  keep  bright  in  your  whole  kitchen.”  “This 
splendid  set  of  books  contains  all  the  information  any  child 
needs  to  carry  him  to  the  eighth  grade.”  “These  cards  match 
the  envelope  and  writing  paper  perfectly.”  These  are  all 


METHODS  OF  AROUSING  INTEREST 


105 

forms  of  definite  statement  to  be  preferred  to  the  phrases 
which  invite  a  rejection. 

The  Necessity  for  Unity  and  Progression. — No  matter 
how  attractive  a  bypath  may  appear,  it  is  absolutely  necessary 
to  stick  to  the  main  subject  and  to  press  on  with  the  advance 
from  attention  to  general  interest,  and  finally  to  particular 
interest.  The  comments  of  the  prospect  frequently  offer  tempt¬ 
ing  material  for  discussion,  but  the  main  logical  development 
of  the  succession  of  talking  points  permits  no  digression.  Ob¬ 
jections  and  suggestions  alike  must  be  met  in  their  place,  but 
by  no  means  always  at  the  moment  when  they  are  stated.  To 
pause  or  even  to  linger  in  the  stream  is  to  get  out  of  the  current, 
the  forward  movement  ceases,  the  enthusiasm  wanes,  and  the 
sale  is  either  lost  or  else  an  unusual  and  perhaps  exhausting 
effort  is  necessary  to  regain  the  advantage  so  foolishly  allowed 
to  slip. 

An  encyclopedia  salesman  in  showing  his  prospectus  to 
teachers  found  that  certain  pictures  tended  to  stimulate  com¬ 
ment  and  anecdote  from  them.  Out  of  courtesy  he  had  to 
listen,  and  soon  found  that  they  would  be  so  interested  in 
their  own  views  and  experiences  that  they  had  lost  interest 
in  the  proposition.  He  wisely  stopped  showing  that  picture. 
Retail  salesmen  find  the  chatty  type  of  customer  difficult  to  deal 
with;  they  talk  themselves  out  of  buying,  so  to  speak.  The 
salesman,  too,  may  talk  his  prospects  out  of  buying,  for  interest 
is  only  sustained  by  progressive  development  of  additional 
features,  each  more  personally  effective  than  the  last.  To 
spend  much  time  on  general  topics  of  interest  is  to  lessen 
instead  of  increase  interest  in  the  salesman’s  offering. 


CHAPTER  X 


INTERESTING  THE  RETAIL  CUSTOMER 

The  Problem  of  the  Retail  Salesperson. — Retail  sales¬ 
persons  are  not  faced  with  the  same  problem  as  salesmen  on 
the  road  and  therefore  do  not  require  the  same  completeness 
of  preparation  in  the  construction  of  sales  arguments.  Yet 
they  need  to  study  means  and  methods  of  arousing  interest  in 
the  wares  they  handle.  It  is  true  that  the  majority  of  shop¬ 
pers  enter  the  store  with  preconceived  ideas  as  to  what  they 
want.  But  their  attention  can  frequently  be  drawn  to  goods 
other  than  those  requested;  sometimes  it  may  be  desirable  to 
call  attention  to  another  brand  of  better  value  than  the  one 
asked  for;  methods  must  be  developed  for  fixing  the  wander¬ 
ing  attention  of  those  who  are  merely  looking  around;  and 
finally  the  art  of  displaying  and  describing  goods  must  be 
practiced  with  the  object  of  creating  and  strengthening  interest. 

The  Attitude  of  the  Salesperson  Must  be  Positive. — To 

win  and  increase  this  interest  the  salesperson  should  be  positive 
and  enthusiastic  when  describing  the  merchandise.  The  gen¬ 
eral  attitude  of  employees  in  many  retail  stores  is  negative  or 
passive.  The  article  asked  for  is  procured;  it  is  apathetically 
placed  on  the  counter,  and  little  or  no  attempt  is  made  either 
to  help  the  customer  to  a  final  decision,  when  choice  enters 
into  the  transaction,  or  to  sell  something  in  addition  to  the 
original  purchase.  The  clerk’s  presumption  is  that  the  shopper, 
especially  if  he  is  a  man,  knows  his  own  mind  and  that  to  seek 
to  influence  him  in  any  way  may  be  to  court  his  displeasure, 
if  not  a  rebuff. 

106 


INTERESTING  THE  RETAIL  CUSTOMER  107 

It  is,  however,  wholly  unnecessary  to  importune  a  customer 
to  buy.  A  higher  priced  article  or  additional  merchandise 
will  often  be  bought  if  the  salesperson  reveals  a  little  enter¬ 
prise.  The  fact  that  customers  want  to  look  at  certain  goods 
or  are  in  the  store  making  a  tour  of  inspection,  implies  a 
willingness  to  be  interested  if  any  special  merchandise  is 
brought  to  their  attention.  The  tactful  salesperson  presumes 
that  they  will  be  glad  to  hear  about  the  qualities  or  special 
features  of  any  goods  they  may  be  inspecting. 

Methods  of  Interesting  the  Shopper. — Suppose,  for 
instance,  a  man  has  just  bought  some  shirts  in  a  men’s  furnish¬ 
ing  store  and  while  waiting  for  the  parcel  looks  with  interest 
at  a  display  of  ties  suspended  on  a  rack.  It  is  then  quite  per¬ 
missible  to  pick  up  the  end  of  one  and  say,  “This  is  pure 
silk — it  will  retain  its  luster.”  As  the  customer’s  gaze  is  trans¬ 
ferred  to  another  style  the  remark  may  be  made,  “This  is  made 
of  a  new  material  which  does  not  wrinkle  easily  as  the  ordinary 
tie  does.”  The  action  can  then  be  suited  to  the  word  by 
squeezing  the  end  of  the  tie  in  the  fingers  and  showing  that 
little  or  no  impression  is  left  upon  the  silk.  When  hats  are 
under  inspection  the  remark  might  be,  “The  shade  of  this 
hat  is  unusually  smart  and  would  go  particularly  well  with 
the  suit  you  are  wearing”;  or  when  trying  on  a  suit,  “This  is 
the  new  close-fitting  style  which  is  now  so  fashionable.  Note 
also  the  finish  in  the  lining  of  this  coat  .  .  .  ”  with  other 

remarks  of  a  similar  nature. 

Positive  statements  which  are  comments  on  style,  quality, 
and  value  may  be  made  in  the  course  of  every  retail  sale.  If 
in  addition  some  interesting  facts  can  be  mentioned  about  the 
material  or  about  the  purchase  itself,  if  it  happens  to  be  par¬ 
ticularly  good  value,  so  much  the  better.  Such  remarks  direct 
attention  to  the  good  points  and  tend  to  keep  the  mind  from 
dwelling  upon  and  exaggerating  the  less  attractive  features. 


io8 


PRINCIPLES  OF  SALESMANSHIP 


Consider,  for  example,  the  sale  of  a  lady’s  suit.  Should 
little  or  nothing  be  said  about  the  good  features  of  the  wearing 
apparel,  the  customer’s  first  thought  might  be  that  she  did  not 
like  the  belt  attached  to  it,  or  that  it  was  not  exactly  the  shade 
of  color  she  wanted,  or  any  one  of  half  a  dozen  objections  to 
the  particular  garment  might  come  to  mind.  It  must  be 
remembered  that  customers  are  invariably  ready  to  look  for 
defects  and  to  criticize.  Positive  remarks  help  to  direct  the 
thought  to  the  attractive  features  of  the  purchase.  The  sale 
is  not  necessarily  lost  if  that  particular  coat  is  not  bought; 
but  the  more  skilfully  the  customer’s  requirements  can  be 
gauged  and  the  desirability  accentuated  of  the  article  that 
is  tried  on,  the  sooner  is  she  satisfied.  The  skill  and  efficiency 
of  the  saleswoman  are  revealed  by  her  ability  to  satisfy  cus¬ 
tomers  quickly.  As  the  number  of  persons  whom  she  serves 
during  the  day  increases  or  as  the  amount  she  sells  to  each 
customer  grows  larger,  the  lower  becomes  the  percentage  of 
her  selling  cost. 

Selling  Additional  Goods. — The  retail  salesperson  should 
seek  every  opportunity  to  suggest  tactfully  one  or  more  addi¬ 
tional  purchases.  If  the  store  does  not  stock  the  particular 
thing  desired,  the  obvious  course  is  to  suggest  something  else. 
The  management  may  wish,  moreover,  to  close  out  a  certain 
line  of  goods;  or  an  exceptionally  advantageous  lot  of  goods 
may  have  been  secured  which  can  be  sold  at  a  reduction  to  the 
advantage  of  both  the  store  and  the  customer.  The  first  pur¬ 
chase  may  indicate  others  to  be  suggested;  upon  selling  a  shirt 
the  salesman  mentions  collars,  neckties,  and  the  like.  The  sales¬ 
man  may  suggest  commodities  that  are  appropriate  to  the 
season.  All  these  are  reasons  for  suggesting  the  purchase  of 
something  in  addition  to  the  article  asked  for. 

Superiority  only  Claimed  upon  Proof. — When  a  brand 
that  is  requested  cannot  be  supplied  and  a  substitute  must  be 


INTERESTING  THE  RETAIL  CUSTOMER 


109 


proffered,  no  claim  for  superiority  should  be  made  unless  this 
can  readily  be  upheld.  For  instance,  a  customer  in  a  drug  store 
asks  for  a  certain  cough  syrup.  The  store  does  not  keep  it, 
so  the'  salesman  without  a  word  brings  out  a  medicine  which 
resembles  it  in  its  ingredients  and  price.  “I  am  sorry  we 
haven’t  the  particular  syrup  you  want,”  he  says,  “but  I  can  give 
you  this  Chery  Cough  Syrup  which  we  think  is  very  efficacious 
because  .  .  .,”  and  here  he  gives  the  reasons  why. 

When  it  can  truthfully  be  affirmed  that  the  article  offered 
is  better  than  the  one  asked  for,  reasons  for  the  superiority 
should  be  given ;  otherwise  no  comparison  should  be  made. 
Nothing  arouses  mistrust  or  incredulity  more  rapidly  than 
comparative  and  superlative  assertions  which  are  unaccompan¬ 
ied  by  any  proof.  Nothing  is  more  convincing  than  a  claim 
of  superiority  when  supported  by  definite  reasons  which  appeal 
to  common  sense  and  experience. 

As  an  example,  a  customer  asks  for  a  cigar  which  is  not 
kept  in  stock.  The  salesman  immediately  hands  out  another 
brand  sold  at  the  same  price  and  of  about  the  same  strength 
and  size.  “We  do  not  keep  that  cigar,”  he  says,  “but  this  one 
which  is  the  same  price  and  the  same  strength  is  in  our  opinion 
a  smoother  smoking  cigar.  We  stock  it  in  preference  to  the 
other,  because,  having  opened  both  cigars  and  compared  them, 
we  find  the  filler  of  this  to  be  of  a  much  more  even  grade  of 
tobacco.”  Or  if  the  salesman  cannot  substantiate  what  he 
says  he  might  reply,  “I  am  sorry,  we  do  not  have  that  cigar, 
but  you  might  try  this;  it  is  very  much  like  the  one  you  ask 
for  and  is  the  same  size  and  price.” 

When  offering  an  alternative  choice  it  is  desirable  not  to 
use  the  phrase,  “This  is  just  as  good.”  These  words  are  the 
stock  formula  of  the  dealer  who  practices  substitution  for  his 
own  profit ;  for  this  reason  they  are  to  be  avoided. 

Selling  Another  Brand  Without  Substitution. — When 
it  is  the  sales  policy  of  the  store  to  introduce  a  new  brand  or 


no 


PRINCIPLES  OF  SALESMANSHIP 


to  sell  an  unadvertised  article  in  preference  to  one  that  is  ad¬ 
vertised,  the  substitution  should  be  made  openly  and  above¬ 
board.  The  new  product  ought  to  be  sold  on  its  merits  with  a 
suggestion,  if  the  customer  adheres  to  the  first  choice,  that  both 
brands  be  tried  side  by  side. 

For  example,  a  drug  store  wishes  to  push  its  own  brand  of 
cough  syrup.  A  customer  asks  for  another  make.  While 
wrapping  up  the  one  called  for  the  salesman  may  say,  “Have 
you  tried  this  cough  syrup  before?”  If  the  customer  replies 
in  the  affirmative  this  affords  an  opportunity  to  suggest  a  trial 
of  the  store’s  own  remedy,  because  all  coughs  are  not  alike.  If 
the  customer’s  answer  is  that  he  has  never  tried  the  syrup  and 
is  doing  so  on  the  recommendation  of  somebody  else,  the  sales 
talk  might  be :  “Sometimes  coughs  are  difficult  to  cure.  If 
you  find  that  this  bottle  fails  in  its  effect,  as  coughs  are  not  all 
alike  and  require  different  medicines,  we’d  be  glad  to  have  you 
try  our  brand  of  so  and  so” — with  other  reasons  for  its  trial. 

A  customer  in  a  grocery  asks  for  a  certain  brand  of  canned 
corn.  As  the  salesman  procures  it  and  places  it  before  her,  if 
the  purchaser  is  a  regular  customer,  he  remarks,  “We  have  a 
new  brand  called  the  ‘Glow  of  the  West’  which  we  feel  we  can 
recommend  in  every  way.  I  would  like  to  have  you  try  it 
and  let  us  have  your  opinion.” 

These  methods  of  introducing  different  articles  inspire  con¬ 
fidence  in  the  salesman’s  knowledge  and  ability  and  make  it 
comparatively  easy  for  him  to  effect  the  substitution  he  de¬ 
sires — either  at  the  present  time  or  when  the  next  purchase  is 
made.  The  evident  willingness  to  supply  the  thing  requested 
removes  any  question  as  to  the  motive  in  suggesting  the  change. 
Under  no  circumstances  should  the  desirability  of  purchasing 
a  subst’tute  be  mentioned  until  the  article  first  requested  has 
been  placed  in  front  of  the  customer — otherwise  the  natural 
thought  is  that  the  salesman  is  seeking  to  sell  something  from 
a  motive  of  self-interest.  Distrust  is  then  at  once  aroused. 


INTERESTING  THE  RETAIL  CUSTOMER 


III 


The  Customer  Who  Is  “Just  Looking  Around.” — In 

every  big  department  store  and  in  many  of  secondary  size, 
customers  like  to  look  around  merely  for  the  pleasure  of  gazing 
upon  the  interesting  and  charming  things  displayed.  If  they 
discover  something  which  seems  a  particular  bargain  or  is 
suitable  as  a  gift  they  may  buy  it.  In  many  cases  the  main 
object  is  to  while  away  an  idle  half-hour. 

When  the  salesman  approaches  a  customer  who  signifies 
that  she  does  not  care  to  be  shown  anything  and  that  she  simply 
wishes  to  look  around,  he  should  discreetly  withdraw  still  keep¬ 
ing  his  eyes  upon  her  while  she  is  in  his  department.  The 
customer  must  not  know  that  she  is  being  watched  or  that  the 
salesman  is  waiting  for  an  opportunity  to  approach  her  if  she 
inspects  or  reveals  any  interest  in  a  particular  article,  otherwise 
she  will  either  leave  the  store  or  refrain  from  showing  interest 
in  anything. 

When,  however,  a  lengthy  pause  before  a  particular  dis¬ 
play  indicates  that  her  interest  has  been  definitely  attracted  the 
salesman  can  then  approach  her  with  the  object  of  serving  her 
in  some  way.  Her  interest  has  now  been  awakened  and  the 
salesman’s  task  is  to  strengthen  it. 

If,  for  instance,  she  is  examining  a  showcase  containing 
handbags,  he  would,  of  course,  not  say,  “Do  you  want  a  hand¬ 
bag,  Madam?”  as  the  probable  reply  would  be  “No”  and  the 
customer  would  leave  the  store  feeling  that  she  had  been  unduly 
pressed  to  buy.  He  might,  however,  tactfully  comment  upon 
the  handbags  in  this  way:  “You  will  be  interested  to  know, 
Madam,  that  these  are  the  new  ‘sack’  designs  which  are  so 
popular  just  now.”  Positive  remarks  such  as  these  about  the 
goods  either  strengthen  the  interest  which  the  customer  shows 
when  she  pauses  to  inspect  a  particular  article;  or  if  she  has 
little  interest  in  the  thing  she  is  inspecting,  a  positive  remark 
of  this  nature  may  induce  her  either  to  examine  it  more  closely 
or  to  mention  something  else  she  is  seeking. 


II 2 


PRINCIPLES  OF  SALESMANSHIP 


Avoid  Asking  Many  Questions. — Having  considered  a 
few  of  the  methods  by  which  the  salesman  increases  the  inter¬ 
est  of  the  retail  shopper  in  what  he  has  to  offer,  let  us  now 
consider  a  few  things  he  must  not  do  if  he  is  to  avoid  nipping 
this  interest  in  the  bud. 

Many  people  object  to  any  questions  at  the  beginning  of  a 
sale;  they  rely  on  the  salesperson’s  judgment  to  a  much  greater 
extent  than  is  realized.  When  asked  a  number  of  questions  the 
natural  thought  of  the  buyer  is  that  the  salesperson  does  not 
understand  what  is  wanted  and  therefore  cannot  be  of  much 
help  in  making  a  choice.  Especially  is  this  the  case  with  the 
woman  shopper.  This  feeling  naturally  destroys  her  confidence 
in  the  salesman’s  ability  and  to  this  extent  injures  the  possi¬ 
bility  of  making  a  sale. 

Imagine,  for  instance,  what  would  be  the  effect  on  a 
customer  buying  a  pair  of  gloves  if  she  were  put  through  the 
following  catechism : 

“Do  you  want  them  long  or  short?” 

“Short.” 

“What  kind  of  gloves  do  you  want?” 

“Kid.” 

“What  color  do  you  want?” 

“Gray.” 

“What  size  do  you  want?” 

“Six.” 

“About  how  much  did  you  want  to  pay?” 

The  crudity  of  asking  questions  is  evident.  Yet  many 
retail  salesmen  seek  information  in  this  clumsy  manner  before 
they  turn  to  their  shelves  and  stock  in  search  of  the  desired 
article.  After  several  queries  the  impatient  or  nervous  type  of 
retail  customer  is  very  likely  to  reply,  “Never  mind,  I  don’t 
think  I  will  bother  about  them  today,”  and  leaves  the  store  in 
search  of  more  intelligent  service. 

The  salesman  must  remember  that  customers  do  not  always 


INTERESTING  THE  RETAIL  CUSTOMER 


”3 

know  exactly  what  they  want.  A  woman  may  need  a  pair  of 
gloves  without  having  definitely  made  up  her  mind  as  to  the 
kind,  the  quality,  or  the  color.  She  simply  knows  that  she 
wants  a  pair  and  wishes  to  see  what  the  store  has  to  offer  before 
making  a  choice.  Even  if  she  has  decided  upon  a  particular 
color  and  style  she  may  like  to  inspect  others  so  as  to  see  if 
there  is  anything  she  likes  better. 

A  safe  rule  is  that  no  more  than  one  or  on  special  occasions 
perhaps  two  questions  shall  be  asked  at  the  opening  of  a  sale. 
For  example,  if  a  garment  is  being  bought  the  question  may  be, 
“Have  you  any  preference  as  to  color?” — or  a  similar  query  in 
order  to  give  the  salesman  a  lead  as  to  the  customer’s  taste. 
Never  should  the  query  be  put,  “What  price  do  you  want  to 
pay?”  And  this  leads  to  the  discussion  of  another  of  the  little 
“don’ts.” 

Avoid  Mentioning  Prices. — Every  flourishing  business, 
big  or  little,  is  built  upon  satisfaction  and  the  repeat  orders 
which  follow.  The  object  of  the  retail  salesman  is  to  sell  goods 
that  are  not  only  pleasing  to  the  eye  but  that  will  prove  equally 
satisfactory  in  use.  The  aim  of  the  shopper  is  usually  to  get 
the  biggest  value  for  money.  Sometimes  the  customer  de¬ 
termines  before  entering  a  store  not  to  spend  more  than  a 
certain  sum  regardless  of  whether  or  not  good  value  can  be 
obtained  for  the  price.  Consequently  it  is  always  poor  diplo¬ 
macy  for  the  salesman  to  ask  his  customer  to  name  a  price  if 
the  subject  is  not  broached  by  the  customer.  When  price  is  not 
mentioned  the  presumption  is  that  quality  is  desired,  quality 
being  reflected  in  the  article’s  giving  satisfaction  in  wear  or  in 
the  superiority  of  its  appearance.  The  salesman’s  aim  is  to 
sell  what  he  thinks  is  the  best  quality  of  goods  that  the  customer 
can  afford. 

Many  a  customer  on  leaving  the  store  thinks  the  price  of  a 
purchase  high;  but  when  the  well-made  good-quality  article  is 


PRINCIPLES  OF  SALESMANSHIP 


114 

put  to  the  test  of  daily  wear,  price  is  forgotten  in  the  satis¬ 
faction  afforded  by  quality  and  appearance.  Only  the  satisfied 
customer  returns  with  a  repeat  order.  So  long  as  there  is  a 
reasonable  certainty  that  customers  will  remain  satisfied  with 
their  purchases  after  they  leave,  it  is  immaterial  whether  the 
price  be  more  or  less  than  the  purchaser  expected  to  pay.  To 
ask  what  priced  goods  to  display  frequently  makes  it  impossible 
to  sell  quality  wares. 

For  example,  a  customer  comes  into  a  store  with  the  inten¬ 
tion  of  paying  $30  for  a  suit  of  clothes  and  he  is  shown  one 
valued  at  $35  and  another  at  $40;  or  a  man  intends  to  buy  a 
cheap  pocketknife  costing  50  cents  and  he  is  offered  one  worth 
$1.  When  the  query  is  raised  as  to  the  price  he  wishes  to  pav 
he  probably  names  the  minimum  figure  at  which  he  hopes  to 
buy  what  he  needs.  When  once  the  cheaper  figure  is  mentioned 
something  at  that  price  must  be  shown  and  the  opportunity  of 
selling  something  of  better  quality  at  the  customer’s  con¬ 
templated  maximum  price  is  lost.  Incidentally  customers  do 
not  always  know  exactly  what  the  thing  they  need  is  worth  and 
what  price  they  should  pay.  A  man  may  have  an  indefinite 
idea  of  spending  $30  for  a  suit  of  clothes  and  yet  be  perfectly 
willing  to  pay  $40  or  more  if  he  is  offered  something  that 
especially  pleases  him. 

Finding  the  Price  Limit. — To  choose  goods  suitable  for 
the  customer’s  pocket  is  a  matter  of  judgment.  A  suit  of 
clothes,  for  example,  may  range  from  $20  to  $120;  pocket- 
knives  sell  from  25  cents  to  $5  each.  It  is  natural  to  size  up 
the  customer  and  estimate  what  he  can  afford  to  pay  for  die 
article  in  question  if  the  purchase  is  for  anything  more  than  a 
trifling  amount.  He  is  then  shown  something  a  little  higher 
in  price  than  the  minimum  he  would  normally  ask  for. 

When  it  is  impossible  to  gauge  with  any  accuracy  how 
much  a  customer  expects  to  pay,  the  figure  can  be  ascertained 


INTERESTING  THE  RETAIL  CUSTOMER 


115 

approximately  by  showing  goods  at  several  prices.  The  ad¬ 
vantage  of  doing  this  is  that  it  permits  values  to  be  contrasted 
and  thus  arouses  interest  in  the  value  of  the  higher  priced 
goods.  The  customer’s  manner  will  indicate  when  the  price 
limit  has  been  reached. 

Salespeople  who  study  their  goods  and  are  acquainted  with 
their  selling  points  will  frequently  be  able  to  sell  goods  higher 
in  price  than  those  called  for.  To  do  this  they  must  display  a 
variety  of  articles,  explain  their  merits,  and  seek  by  means  of 
demonstration  and  descriptive  sales  talk  to  sell  that  which  will 
give  the  most  satisfaction,  even  if  the  price  is  higher  than  the 
customer  expects  to  pay. 

Show  the  Larger  Size  of  Packages. — For  the  same  reason 
that  goods  of  the  best  quality  are  always  shown  to  a  suitable 
customer,  when  a  product  is  sold  in  different  sized  packages  the 
large  size  should  be  offered  when  no  price  is  mentioned.  These 
large  sizes  invariably  represent  better  values  and  in  some  cases 
offer  an  economy  of  as  much  as  50  per  cent.  Often  a  customer 
does  not  know  in  what  size  an  article  is  packed;  in  this  case 
if  a  query  is  put  as  to  the  quantity  desired  the  smaller  package 
may  be  chosen  where  otherwise  the  sale  of  a  large  one  can  be 
made.  When  a  small-sized  package  is  asked  for  this  should 
promptly  be  placed  before  the  customer,  and  then  the  fact  can 
be  mentioned  that  a  larger  package  costing  so  much  represents 
much  better  value  and  is  a  real  economy  in  the  end.  This 
discussion  of  the  size  of  the  package  leads  to  another  little 
“don’t”  relating  to  sizes. 

Avoid  Telling  Size. — In  selling  shoes,  gloves,  or  other 
articles  of  wear  which  are  fitted  to  the  customer,  so  far  as 
possible  all  questions  relating  to  the  size  should  be  avoided. 
Many  women  shoppers  have  peculiar  ideas  about  sizes,  especial¬ 
ly  those  of  shoes  and  gloves,  and  will  insist  upon  buying  a  cer- 


n6 


PRINCIPLES  OF  SALESMANSHIP 


tain  size,  if  it  is  once  specified,  regardless  of  fit  and  comfort. 
Many  men  forget  the  size  worn  and  do  not  want  to  be  worried 
with  such  a  detail.  By  measuring  the  hand  or  the  foot,  in  pre¬ 
ference  to  asking  what  size  is  desired,  unnecessary  discussion 
is  avoided.  Incidentally  such  a  method  gives  the  customer 
more  confidence  in  the  ability  of  the  salesperson. 

Handling  the  Indifferent  Friend  of  the  Customer. — It 

sometimes  happens  that  the  customer  will  be  accompanied  by 
a  friend  whose  comments  and  criticisms  prove  an  obstacle  to 
the  sale.  In  dealing  with  such  a  situation  the  salesman  must 
always  remember  that  the  sale  is  being  made  to  the  customer 
and  not  to  her  companion;  accordingly  the  actual  customer’s 
views  must  be  met,  her  interest  stimulated,  her  taste  considered, 
her  wishes  carried  out.  If  the  companion  makes  a  suggestion 
or  an  objection  the  salesman  should  pass  over  it  with  a  slight 
though  courteous  recognition  unless  the  customer  clearly  con¬ 
curs  in  the  opinion  expressed. 

For  example,  a  salesman  of  silks  was  interrupted  by  a 
customer’s  companion,  who  remarked,  “Don’t  you  think  that 
the  orange  would  be  better  than  that  jonquil  shade?”  “Many 
people  admire  the  orange,  Madam,”  replied  the  salesman,  “but 
we  find  the  jonquil  is  quite  as  popular.”  The  reply  was  pleas¬ 
antly  made,  but  the  salesman  did  not  lay  down  the  jonquil 
silk  or  even  look  at  the  orange;  he  kept  his  attention  directed 
upon  the  customer  and  kept  hers  on  the  silk  in  which  she  had 
expressed  an  interest.  But  the  friend  was  not  satisfied.  “Well,” 
she  continued,  “I  don’t  think  I’d  get  that  if  I  were  you,  it  seems 
to  be  rather  poor  quality  to  me.”  The  customer  meanwhile 
had  been  examining  the  jonquil  silk  without  evincing  any 
marked  attention  to  the  opinion  of  her  friend,  so  the  salesman 
simply  and  easily  draped  the  silk  over  the  customer’s  arm  and 
said,  “It  will  make  up  charmingly,  won’t  it?”  By  his  manner 
he  showed  that  he  was  not  contemptuously  or  timidly  avoiding 


INTERESTING  THE  RETAIL  CUSTOMER 


II 7 

the  criticism  of  the  customer’s  friend  and  yet  he  also  made  it 
plain  that  he  was  waiting  on  the  customer,  ready  to  deal  with 
the  objection  in  case  she  cared  to  indicate  an  interest  in  the 
question  of  the  quality  of  the  silk. 

The  General  Attitude  of  the  Retail  Salesperson _ The 

attitude  of  many  retail  salespeople  toward  their  customers  is 
apathetic  and  indifferent.  They  lack  enthusiasm  in  their  work 
and  this  lack  is  largely  due  to  ignorance  of  the  attractive 
features  of  their  goods.  They  do  not  study  their  merchandise 
from  the  viewpoint  of  describing  it  in  terms  which  will  appeal. 
As  they  are  not  interested  in  these  finer  details  they  cannot 
hope  to  arouse  much  interest  in  the  mind  of  the  shopper.  Be¬ 
fore  we  can  interest  others  we  must  reveal  interest  ourselves. 
When  this  interest  is  really  earnest  and  sincere  it  shows  itself 
as  enthusiasm.  The  enthusiastic  conviction  of  the  salesperson 
can  transform  apathetic  and  diffused  interest  in  a  particular 
article  into  the  desire  to  buy. 


CHAPTER  XI 


METHODS  OF  CREATING  DESIRE 

The  Nature  of  Desire. — As  general  interest  is  changed  to 
specific  interest,  desire  begins  to  appear.  This  stage  of  the 
mental  journey  passes  through  a  more  or  less  gradual  develop¬ 
ment  from  the  point  of  specific  interest  to  that  where  the  desire 
has  become  so  full  and  strong  as  to  lead  into  action.  In  other 
words,  at  the  close  of  this  section  of  the  journey  the  service 
rendered  by  the  commodity  appears  to  the  prospect  to  offer 
him  a  greater  value  than  the  money  asked  in  exchange  for  it. 

For  example,  a  prospect  who  is  being  interviewed  by  a 
salesman  of  an  encyclopedia  is  from  the  start  ready  to  admit 
that  the  work  is  of  unquestionable  value  to  a  great  many  people. 
As  his  interest  is  roused  he  also  admits  that  this  particular  work 
is  of  unusual  value  to  people  in  general  and  then  that  it  is 
likewise  of  real  value  to  him,  provided  that  he  had  the  time, 
or  the  money,  or  the  frequent  occasion,  or  the  kind  of  family, 
and  so  on,  that  would  make  such  a  work  practically  purchas¬ 
able.  At  this  point  his  interest  has  become  specific  and  desire 
is  near  at  hand.  When  he  realizes  how  much  definite  informa¬ 
tion  and  aid  the  work  contains  that  has  a  direct  bearing  on  his 
business  and  social  life,  on  the  education  of  his  children,  and 
on  the  literary  and  social  activities  of  his  wife — in  short,  the 
constant  helpfulness  of  the  encyclopedia  to  every  member  of 
his  family — he  reaches  the  state  of  mind  in  which  he  begins 
to  feel  that  the  money  will  bring  him  better  returns  through 
investment  in  this  work  than  in  any  other  use  that  he  can 


u 8 


METHODS  OF  CREATING  DESIRE 


119 

think  of.  •  Now  desire  is  fully  established;  the  commodity’s 
service  appears  to  him  of  greater  value  than  the  price  asked. 

Convertible  versus  Inconvertible  Assets. — But  this 
stage  is  not  always  easily  reached.  Money  is  convertible  at 
the  shortest  notice  into  practically  any  form  of  service ;  it  is 
what  is  known  as  a  “liquid”  asset.  Commodities,  on  the  other 
hand,  are  for  the  most  part  practically  inconvertible  except  at 
a  very  considerable  loss.  A  man  pays  for  an  automobile,  gets 
into  it,  and  drives  away ;  by  the  time  he  has  gone  a  few  hundred 
yards  the  car  cannot  be  converted  into  the  sum  he  has  just  paid 
for  it,  although  its  condition  is  perfect.  Again,  a  piece  of 
real  estate  may  have  increased  in  value  unquestionably  since  it 
was  bought,  yet  the  possibility  of  immediately  converting  it  into 
cash  depends  on  many  factors  not  under  the  owner’s  control. 
Months  may  elapse,  money  must  be  spent  for  advertising,  pos¬ 
sibly  also  for  commissions,  and  for  other  items  as  well.  Fur¬ 
thermore,  such  commodities  as  clothing,  furniture,  tools,  books, 
and  the  like  will  bring  little  more  than  a  nominal  sum.  Hence 
most  business  men  and  women  show  a  natural  hesitancy  in 
spending,  as  once  they  have  converted  a  sum  into  some  other 
form  of  value  their  property  has  lost  its  easy  convertibility. 

The  Salesman’s  Requisites  for  Creating  Desire. — To 

create  desire  the  salesman  must  prove  clearly  and  simply  that 
the  offering  will  render  a  more  valuable  service  to  the  pur¬ 
chaser  than  the  sum  to  be  paid  for  it.  He  must  be  specific, 
stating  and  demonstrating  just  what  that  offering  will  do  for 
that  particular  prospect.  As  we  have  seen,  statements  of  its 
worth  in  general  does  no  more  than  arouse  a  general  interest, 
some  degrees  removed  from  full  desire. 

But  the  salesman’s  ability  to  accomplish  so  definite  a  task 
rests  upon  accurate,  clearly  defined  knowledge  both  of  the  com¬ 
modity  and  of  the  prospect.  His  knowledge  of  his  goods  must 


120 


PRINCIPLES  OF  SALESMANSHIP 


include  their  uses  as  well  as  their  make-up.  He  must  also  have 
an  appreciation  of  the  manner  in  which  the  particular  prospect 
he  is  interviewing  will  require  the  goods  to  serve  him. 

Knowledge  of  the  Offering — The  necessary  knowledge  of 
his  goods  can  only  be  acquired  through  detailed  study  from  the 
buyer’s  various  points  of  view  as  well  as  from  those  of  the 
manufacturer  and  the  distributer.  He  must  understand  what 
qualities  and  characteristics  a  customer  is  likely  to  demand;  he 
must  know  how  those  requirements  are  met  and  why  they  are 
met  in  that  manner.  The  salesman  must  recognize  that  the 
standards  of  values  as  the  customer  estimates  them  will  vary 
from  the  standards  of  the  maker  and  the  merchant.  And 
always  he  must  possess  so  much  knowledge  and  insight  that  he 
sees  the  reasons  for  these  varying  and  sometimes  opposing 
views ;  without  comprehending  the  reasons  he  cannot  expect  to 
meet  the  inquiries  and  objections,  nor  can  he  decide  what  means 
will  best  create  personal  and  strong  desire. 

Knowledge  of  the  Customer — The  types  of  customers 
are  so  numerous  and  so  important  that  they  are  discussed  at 
length  in  later  chapters.  For  the  present  it  must  suffice  for  us 
to  recognize  that  to  create  personal  longing  for  an  offering  the 
salesman  must  inevitably  get  contact  with  the  personality,  must 
appeal  not  merely  to  the  common  and  general  instinctive  ten¬ 
dencies  but  to  the  special  phases  that  he  discovers  in  this  indivi¬ 
dual  with  whom  he  is  concerned.  As  has  been  pointed  out  in 
the  chapter  on  the  preapproach,  every  piece  of  information 
that  can  be  secured  regarding  a  prospect  is  of  importance  in 
preparing  the  appeals  that  shall  most  directly  and  effectively 
influence  him.  The  customer  must  not  only  feel  but  perceive 
that  his  welfare  is  a  matter  of  concern  to  the  salesman,  that 
the  salesman  is  working  in  his  especial  and  peculiar  interests, 
and  that  the  offering  will  serve  him  with  admirable  fitness. 


METHODS  OF  CREATING  DESIRE 


121 


The  Salesman  as  Assistant  to  the  Buyer _ Indeed  it  is 

the  duty  and  the  function  of  the  salesman  to  assist  the  prospect 
in  buying.  He  has  no  right  to  urge  a  purchase  that  will  not  be 
of  benefit  to  the  prospect.  He  co-operates  with  the  prospect  in 
selecting  the  commodity,  determining  the  quantity  and  the 
quality,  the  time  of  delivery,  mode  of  payment,  use  of  the  com¬ 
modity,  and  so  on.  He  is  an  expert,  a  professional  adviser, 
acting  as  a  lawyer  or  a  doctor  does,  in  the  interest  of  his  client; 
failure  to  do  so  is  to  injure  the  standing  of  himself  and  his  firm 
and  of  business  in  general;  worse  still,  he  is  extremely  likely 
to  injury  or  at  least  vex  the  prospect.  This  principle  of  sound 
business  has  been  recognized  and  practiced  for  generations  by 
the  outstanding  merchants,  bankers,  and  manufacturers  of  the 
world.  It  has  been  manifest  from  the  beginning  of  com¬ 
mercial  enterprise  that  a  reputation  for  fair  and  square  dealing 
is  fundamental ;  that  the  man  who  sells  solely  for  his  own 
immediate  gain,  without  thought  of  his  customer’s  gain  as  well, 
is  doomed  to  isolation  and  failure. 

Examples  are  hardly  necessary  except  to  show  cases  of 
prompt  and  discriminating  helpfulness.  A  woman  entered  a 
hardware  store  and  looked  along  the  counter  somewhat  un¬ 
decidedly  yet  in  obvious  search  for  some  article.  As  the  sales¬ 
man  came  toward  her  she  asked  for  a  hammer.  The  first  of 
the  salesman’s  acts  as  assistant  buyer  was  to  recognize  that  she 
intended  to  use  the  hammer  herself ;  by  avoiding  the  question, 
“What  sort  of  hammer?’’  he  was  avoiding  the  danger  of 
increasing  doubt  or  hesitation.  His  next  act  of  assistance  wa9 
to  place  before  her  two  hammers,  one  a  light-weight  uphol¬ 
sterer’s  hammer,  the  other  still  lighter  for  using  on  tacks  and 
small  nails.  As  she  picked  up  the  tack  hammer  he  inquired, 
“Are  you  interested  in  upholstering?’’  Here  he  helped  by  not 
forcing  the  decision  and  yet  showed  an  interest  in  the  cus¬ 
tomer’s  line  of  thought,  with  a  question  that  would  call  for  a 
reply  that  would  almost  certainly  indicate  just  the  tool  that 


122 


PRINCIPLES  OF  SALESMANSHIP 


would  be  most  desirable.  “Why,  not  exactly,”  was  the  answer, 
“but  I  do  hope  to  re-cover  a  chair  before  very  long,  and  this 
hammer  (indicating  the  upholsterer’s  hammer)  seems  as  if  it 
might  be  what  I  want.”  “It  is  useful  for  all  sorts  of  light 
work,”  said  the  salesman,  “for  the  head  is  just  right  whether 
you  wish  to  drive  a  good-sized  nail  or  tack  or  fine  brads.  The 
tool  is  so  nicely  balanced,  that  as  you  hold  it  the  hammer  almost 
swings  itself  with  practically  no  effort  to  lift  it  or  to  strike 
with  it.  The  people  who  make  that  know  the  importance  of 
correct  balance.  And  if  you  wish  to  draw  a  tack  or  a  nail  this 
claw  is  just  the  thing.”  By  this  explanation  he  made  the  pros¬ 
pect  see  how  well  adapted  the  article  was  for  her  use.  The 
tool  was  an  upholsterer’s  hammer,  but  if  he  had  called  it  by 
that  name  he  might  have  given  her  the  idea  that  it  demanded 
a  trained  hand. 

The  wholesale  salesman  is  often  expected  to  act  as  adviser 
and  assistant  buyer.  In  dealing  with  retailers,  especially  small 
storekeepers,  the  salesman  estimates  the  amount  of  stock  the 
retailer  should  carry  in  each  of  his  offerings  and  takes  care 
to  prevent  him  from  ordering  too  little  or  too  much.  He  also 
can  assist  by  suggesting  window  decorations,  by  acquainting 
the  merchant  with  new  methods  of  attracting  trade,  and  by 
planning  or  otherwise  helping  in  the  solution  of  some  of  the 
retail  man’s  problems.  Wholesale  firms  in  many  lines  find  that 
this  spirit  is  absolutely  necessary  if  they  are  to  secure  repeat 
orders.  Paper  jobbers  and  manufacturers  act  as  expert  ad¬ 
visers  to  publishers  and  printers  who  call  them  to  help  in 
determining  what  quality  of  paper  to  use  for  a  given  purpose, 
when  to  order  it,  what  specifications  to  draw  up  in  giving  the 
order,  what  methods  of  packing  and  shipment  to  use  when 
sending  out  the  finished  product,  and  so  on.  Not  one  of  these 
points  is  strictly  within  the  selling  functions  of  the  mere  order 

taker.  But  everv  one  of  them  is  a  normal  function  of  a  sue- 

* 

cessful  salesman. 


METHODS  OF  CREATING  DESIRE 


123 


This  aspect  of  salesmanship  is  still  more  evident  in  certain 
lines  of  specialty  selling.  The  firms  that  handle  fire,  auto¬ 
mobile,  and  theft  insurance  provide  service  of  several  kinds 
in  addition  to  supplying  insurance;  their  advice  and  help  in 
renewing,  changing,  or  modifying  policies  is  regarded  as  a 
part  of  their  every-day  work.  Advertising  firms  frequently 
take  over  the  whole  responsibility  of  planning,  preparing, 
printing,  and  mailing  circulars  and  other  publicity,  so  that  the 
customer  perhaps  does  little  more  than  confer  with  his  advertis¬ 
ing  man  and  outline  his  general  wishes  for,  say,  a  new  catalog. 
And  that  is  the  last  of  the  matter  as  far  as  the  customer  is  con¬ 
cerned;  he  may  not  even  see  a  proof  or  a  sample,  relying 
entirely  upon  the  skill  and  care  of  the  house  to  whom  the  order 
is  given.  This  case  is  extreme  but  by  no  means  unheard  of. 
The  salesmen  of  brushes  who  have  established  themselves  in 
a  definite  territory  and  make  from  two  to  four  calls  a  year 
build  up  the  housewife’s  interest  and  desire  through  helpful 
suggestions  and  through  showing  that  they  wish ’to  sell  only 
such  brushes  as  are  of  direct  and  immediate  usefulness. 

Finally,  in  all  three  fields  of  salesmanship — wholesale, 
specialty,  and  retail — the  salesman  must  be  prepared  to  forego 
the  sale  provided  that  the  best  interest  of  the  prospect  require 
this  sacrifice.  A  prudent  exercise  of  self-denial  helps  im¬ 
mensely  in  building  up  confidence  and  reliance.  For  instance,  a 
salesman  of  men’s  clothing  in  a  department  store  said  to  a 
customer  whom  he  had  sold  on  several  previous  occasions,  “Mr. 
Clark,  we  haven’t  what  you  want  and  are  not  likely  to,  as  our 
stock  has  just  been  replenished.  You  want  a  heavy  homespun, 
and  though  this  line  of  tweeds  is  an  unusual  value  in  much 
the  same  line,  yet  I  can  understand  that  you  would  be  disap¬ 
pointed  if  you  bought  one  of  them.  Now  over  at  So-and-So’s 
they  are  carrying  a  new  lot  of  homespuns  that  would  probably 
suit  you.’’  The  suggestion  was  accepted,  and  the  homespun 
suit  at  So-and-So’s  proved  to  be  just  what  was  wanted.  But 


124 


PRINCIPLES  OF  SALESMANSHIP 


the  customer  has  retained  his  habit  of  going  to  the  department 
store  salesman,  for  his  trust  in  the  fairness  and  good  judgment 
of  that  salesman  is  stronger  than  ever.  In  this  same  store  a 
woman  bought  some  material  for  heavy  draperies  and  then 
inquired  whether  the  drapery  material  would  also  make  a  suita¬ 
ble  covering  for  a  window  seat.  The  salesman  assured  that 
it  would  and  then  she  said  “I  should  have  a  cushion  as  well 
for  that  seat.  Do  you  make  them?”  “Yes,  Madam,”  replied 
the  salesman,  “the  upholstery  department  makes  a  specialty  of 
that  kind  of  work.”  “On  thinking  about  it,”  continued  the 
woman,  “I  suppose  that  I  could  make  the  cover  of  the  cushion 
and  even  the  cushion  itself  if  I  had  the  padding.  Do  you  sell 
the  padding  material?”  “No,  Madam,”  said  the  salesman, 
“we  do  not.  We  can  get  it  for  you  if  you  like,  or  you  can 
get  it  direct  from  the  Dash  and  Dash  Felt  Company,  on  Fall 
Street.”  “Why,  I  know  a  member  of  the  firm,”  exclaimed  the 
customer,  “Thank  you,  that  is  just  what  I  will  do,  and  as  soon 
as  I  have  the  measurements  I  will  come  in  and  get  the  material 
for  the  cover.  Do  you  think  that  you  will  have  this  material  in 
stock  for  a  week  or  two  longer?”  “Yes,  Madam,  it  is  a  pattern 
that  we  shall  carry  for  some  months.”  The  incident  is  not 
extraordinary,  it  represents  a  typical  situation  handled  for  the 
customer’s  interest  to  the  satisfaction  of  all  concerned. 

Willingness  to  help,  to  render  service  without  direct  com¬ 
pensation,  is  the  keynote  of  big  business  and  is  becoming  more 
and  more  prevalent  in  all  kinds  of  business,  both  large  and 
small. 

Suggestive  versus  Extended  Argument. — At  times  a  sug¬ 
gestion  to  buy  is  sufficient  and  at  others  a  full  presentation  of 
the  reasons  must  be  given.  When  the  prospect  is  already  fami¬ 
liar  with  the  offering  and  admits  its  serviceability,  the  salesman 
should  waste  no  time  in  argument  but  should  suggest  its  pur¬ 
chase  at  once.  Lack  of  familiarity  with  the  commodity  or  with 


METHODS  OF  CREATING  DESIRE 


125 


its  usefulness  and  significance  to  the  prospect  requires  persua¬ 
sive  treatment  but  demands  more  especially  the  application  of 
conviction,  that  is,  the  positive  and  logical  reasons  for  purchase. 
The  method  is  illustrated  at  the  close  of  the  following  chapter. 

Avoid  Mentioning  Competitors. — The  argument  can 
rarely  if  ever  be  strengthened  by  mentioning  a  competitor’s 
business. 

A  farmer  entered  a  general  country  store  and  asked  the 
price  of  an  incubator.  The  salesman  named  the  figure  and 
wishing  perhaps  to  display  a  little  affability,  added,  “That’s 
cheaper  than  you  could  buy  it  from  a  mail-order  house.” 

“I  bet  you  it  isn’t,”  replied  the  customer. 

The  salesman  contended  that  the  incubator  he  was  offering 
could  not  be  bought  for  less  anywhere.  A  rather  heated  dis¬ 
cussion  followed.  The  farmer  left  with  the  determination  to 
prove  the  price  of  the  mail-order  house  was  lower.  A  few 
hours  later  he  returned  in  triumph  with  a  catalog  and  the  sales¬ 
man  was  compelled  to  admit  that  his  statement  was  incorrect. 

This  incident  illustrates  the  folly  of  mentioning  competi¬ 
tion  unless  the  customer  himself  broaches  the  subject.  A  com¬ 
parison  of  values  may  never  occur  to  the  mind  of  the  buyer 
unless  the  idea  is  suggested.  Only  when  the  customer  him¬ 
self  alludes  to  competing  goods  is  the  salesman  entitled  to 
assume  that  they  exist.  He  can  then  make  definite  comparisons 
between  his  wares  and  those  of  a  competitor.  In  doing  this, 
however,  he  should  avoid  making  disparaging  statements — 
termed  “knocking”  in  the  vernacular  of  salesmanship.  Quite 
naturally  business  men  or  retail  shoppers  always  suspect  the 
salesman  who  tries  to  belittle  competing  goods  in  order  to  en¬ 
hance  the  value  of  his  own.  In  doing  this  he  is  obviously 
prompted  by  self-interest,  so  that  the  statement  is  bound  to 
be  discounted. 

A  furniture  salesman  replied  to  a  buyer  who  had  just 


126 


PRINCIPLES  OF  SALESMANSHIP 


explained  that  a  certain  order  had  gone  to  a  competitor,  “Why, 
their  chairs  will  fall  to  pieces  in  six  months !”  Such  a  tactless 
observation  as  this  reflected  on  the  judgment  of  the  buyer. 
Besides,  it  was  obviously  made  from  an  interested  motive,  and 
it  was  just  as  obviously  exaggerated.  The  buyer  knew  that 
the  firm  he  was  dealing  with  merited  his  confidence  and  so  the 
salesman  lost  all  chance  of  any  further  business  in  that  quarter. 

When  Comparisons  Are  Permissible. — There  is  an  impor¬ 
tant  difference  between  “knocking”  and  making  fair  com¬ 
parisons.  When  the  customer  first  alludes  to  competing  goods 
the  salesman’s  aim  should  be  to  show  the  points  of  superiority 
in  his  own,  rather  than  to  show  that  his  competitor’s  are  of 
poor  or  inferior  quality.  He  can  cheerfully  admit  that  the 
competing  goods  have  points  in  their  favor,  but  at  the  same 
time  he  takes  care  to  show  the  superior  merits  of  his  own.  . 

Thus  when  the  farmer  stated  that  he  could  buy  more 
cheaply  from  the  mail-order  house,  the  salesman  might  have 
replied,  “Yes,  that  may  be  possible,  but  if  you  do  make  a  bit 
of  a  saving,  is  it  worth  the  trouble?  First  you  have  to  write 
out  an  order,  and  then  wait  and  wait  for  the  thing  to  come, 
and  when  it  does  arrive  it  may  be  battered  or  broken  in  transit. 
Then  you  will  have  the  trouble  of  writing  to  straighten  out  the 
matter — in  fact  with  many  mail-order  transactions  there’s  all 
sorts  of  trouble. 

“Now  when  you  buy  an  incubator  from  us  you  see  it  right 
here  on  the  floor.  You  can  inspect  every  inch  of  it  and  refuse 
it  if  there’s  a  scratch  anywhere  on  it.  It’s  delivered  to  you  the 
same  afternoon  and  you  know  that  if  anything  goes  wrong 
with  it,  we  are  right  here  and  always  ready  to  make  good  with¬ 
out  delay.” 

This  is  an  example  of  the  skilful  use  of  comparative  state¬ 
ments.  A  trifling  advantage  in  price  is  contrasted  with  the 
more  definite  advantages  of  buying  locally  rather  than  from  a 


METHODS  OF  CREATING  DESIRE 


127 


mail-order  house,  and  the  comparison  is  so  handled  that  it  is 
in  no  way  disparaging  to  the  goods  sold  through  the  mail. 
The  attention  of  the  buyer  is  switched  from  the  goods,  which 
are  almost  identical  in  value,  to  the  service  rendered  by  the 
local  firm  and  to  the  certainty  that  his  purchase  will  prove  satis¬ 
factory  in  every  way. 

Thus  when  the  customer  makes  a  direct  comparison  which 
indicates  that  in  his  opinion  competing  goods  offer  advantages 
not  included  in  those  before  him,  the  salesman  as  a  rule  can 
offset  any  features  in  favor  of  a  rival’s  merchandise  with  one 
or  two  points  that  are  favorable  to  his  own.  The  better  policy 
is  always  to  acknowledge  a  superiority  in  a  competitor’s  goods, 
if  the  salesman  himself  is  convinced  of  this  superiority.  Hav¬ 
ing  acknowledged  the  worth  of  a  competitor,  the  value  of  the 
claims  made  for  his  own  goods  will  be  greatly  enhanced. 

Competition  May  be  Mentioned  When  Expected. — When 
a  customer  after  listening  to  the  salesman’s  argument  affirms 
that  the  price  is  high,  and  seems  reluctant  to  place  an  order, 
the  inference  may  safely  be  drawn  that  he  is  mentally  com¬ 
paring  the  goods  before  him  with  those  of  a  competing  house — 
if  competition  is  to  be  expected.  In  such  a  case  general  refer¬ 
ence  to  the  subject  may  be  made  without  specific  mention  of 
any  one  competitor. 

For  instance,  a  salesman  offering  a  filing  cabinet  to  a  pros¬ 
pect  whom  he  knows  to  be  considering  various  devices  with  a 
view  to  economical  selection,  might  remark,  “Our  cabinets 
combine  every  convenience  that  a  filing  cabinet  can  possibly 
give.  A  filing  cabinet  is  not  a  complicated  piece  of  mechanism. 
There  are  several  good  makes  on  the  market.  We  do  not  claim 
that  ours  possesses  any  special  advantage  over  others.  But 
we  do  claim  that  our  manufacturing  facilities  and  our  large 
volume  of  trade  enable  us  to  offer  you  a  lower  priced  cabinet 
which,  when  quality  and  price  are  considered,  cannot  be 


128 


PRINCIPLES  OF  SALESMANSHIP 


equaled  by  any  other  house.”  He  then  supports  his  claim  with 
figures  as  to  sales,  and  he  mentions  the  names  of  well-known 
firms  that  use  the  filing  cabinets. 

If  at  this  point  the  customer  mentions  some  special  feature 
of  a  competitive  cabinet,  such  as  a  temporary  filing  drawer, 
which  is  not  included  in  the  salesman’s  office  equipment,  the 
reply  might  be  made,  “Yes,  I  admit  that  this  is  sometimes  use¬ 
ful,  but  just  notice  the  convenience  of  this,  ...”  and  then 
the  salesman  points  out  any  advantages  his  own  product  may 
possess  over  those  with  which  the  buyer  has  made  a  compari¬ 
son.  When  selling  in  a  competitive  field  where  such  compari¬ 
sons  are  likely  to  be  made,  part  of  the  salesman’s  preparatory 
work  is  the  study  of  competitive  goods. 

The  importance  of  making  clear-cut  comparisons  rathei 
than  vague,  disparaging  comments  is  fully  appreciated  by 
salesmen  who  handles  specialties.  The  adding  machine,  the 
typewriter,  or  the  check  protector  salesman  who  finds  another 
machine  in  a  prospect’s  office,  boldly  places  his  own  product  at 
the  side  of  a  competitor’s  and  then  shows  in  detail  just  what 
his  machine  can  do  that  the  other  cannot.  He  points  out  any 
superiorities  in  construction  which  his  machine  may  have. 
He  compares  the  finish,  if  this  is  advisable.  He  makes  com¬ 
parisons  that  are  definite  and  fair  about  things  which  the  pros¬ 
pect  can  see  for  himself,  so  that  the  truth  is  self-evident. 

Let  the  Customer  Handle  the  Goods. — When  the  cus¬ 
tomer  can  be  made  to  handle  the  goods  he  thus  proves  for 
himself  that  the  article,  machine,  or  instrument  will  do  what 
the  salesman  says  it  will  do.  In  many  cases  a  personal  demon¬ 
stration  is  the  best  of  all  methods  of  arousing  desire.  This 
point  has  been  noted  in  connection  with  methods  of  arousing 
interest  in  the  preceding  chapters.  The  clothing  salesman 
requests  the  customer  to  remove  his  coat  so  that  the  garment 
can  be  tried  on  and  its  appearance  studied  in  the  glass.  The 


METHODS  OF  CREATING  DESIRE 


129 


adding  machine  salesman  asks  his  prospect  to  test  the  rapidity 
with  which  work  can  be  done  by  adding  and  checking  up  some 
of  his  own  accounts.  The  retail  salesman  in  a  hardware  store, 
when  a  customer  asks  for  a  screw-driver,  demonstrates  how 
easy  it  is  to  drive  in  screws  by  using  a  tool  with  a  spiral  revolv¬ 
ing  handle  and  asks  the  customer  to  try  it  out  for  himself  on 
a  board  specially  provided  for  the  purpose.  In  most  cases  the 
customer  needs  only  to  make  the  demonstration  for  himself  to 
be  convinced  that  the  article  is  well  worth  the  price. 

Securing  the  Customer’s  Assent  to  Claims. — Every  sales 
talk  includes  a  certain  number  of  claims  as  to  the  merits  or 
advantages  of  an  offer.  If  the  customer  is  to  be  impressed 
with  the  value  he  must  be  brought  to  assent  to  these  claims 
and  assertions.  This  is  particularly  true  when  an  assertion  is 
made  which  is  in  any  way  open  to  question,  or  which  through 
lack  of  proof  tends  to  product  skepticism.  Unless  this  mental 
assent,  either  tacit  or  verbal,  is  secured  for  every  claim  or 
assertion  made,  when  the  time  comes  to  close  the  sale  the  cus¬ 
tomer  may  turn  round  and  state  that  for  certain  reasons  the 
offer  is  not  advantageous.  The  difficulty  of  closing  the  sale 
will  be  greatly  increased  unless  the  salesman  not  only  removes 
all  doubts  and  fears  from  the  buyer’s  mind,  but  replaces  these 
with  positive  belief  in  the  truth  of  claims  and  statements  which 
have  been  made. 

In  arriving  at  this  mental  assent  the  attitude  of  trying  to 
drive  the  customer  into  a  corner  by  the  sweeping  force  of  the 
argument  should  be  carefully  avoided.  Rather  should  the 
salesman’s  manner  reveal  a  sincere  desire  to  reach  a  reasonable 
basis  of  agreement.  Thus  a  statement  or  claim  which  is 
obvious  and  appeals  to  common  sense  can  be  put  in  the  form 
of  a  query,  so  as  to  elicit  from  the  customer  the  reply,  “That 
is  so.”  If  the  query  results  in  a  negative  answer  and  there  is 
no  further  proof  to  offer  in  support  of  the  claim,  then  it  must 


130 


PRINCIPLES  OF  SALESMANSHIP 


be  modified  until  the  customer  is  willing  to  admit  it  as  a  truth. 
But  admit  its  truth  in  one  form  or  another  the  customer  must. 

How  to  Build  Up  a  Strong  Claim  Step  by  Step _ A 

strong  claim  or  even  sweeping  assertion,  which  at  first  view  the 
customer  would  be  inclined  to  deny  hotly,  can  often  be  made 
with  safety,  if  it  is  deliberately  built  up  step  by  step.  A  cash 
register  salesman,  for  example,  might  assert  to  a  retailer  em¬ 
ploying  a  dozen  or  more  salespeople  that  in  the  course  of  a 
year  he  loses  at  least  $1,000  because  he  is  not  equipped  with  an 
up-to-date  cash  register  system.  In  every  case  such  a  state¬ 
ment  would  be  flatly  contradicted.  So  he  secures  assent  to  the 

V 

assertion  in  this  way : 

“A  general  proposition,  Mr.  Jones,  is  that  no  matter  how 
careful  the  storekeeper  and  his  clerks  may  be,  they  are  only 
human  and  are  likely  to  make  mistakes.  Any  system  that  is 
dependent  upon  human  memory  is  open  to  mistakes.  This  you 
agree  with,  do  you  not?” 

No  one  can  contradict  this  general  statement  and  the  store¬ 
keeper  readily  admits  its  truth. 

“Now,  Mr.  Jones,”  the  salesman  continues,  “considering 
that  to  err  is  human,  isn’t  it  possible  that  such  errors  occur  in 
your  store  to  the  amount  of  a  few  cents  a  day?” 

Mr.  Jones  is  compelled  to  admit  that  such  errors  do  some¬ 
times  occur  and  he  has  known  them  to  occur  in  his  store. 

“Then,  Mr.  Jones,  you  discover  those  losses  sometimes. 
Couldn’t  they  sometimes  happen  without  your  discovering 
them?” 

Mr.  Jones  is  again  compelled  to  admit  that  this  may  be 
the  case. 

“Now,  Mr.  Jones,  if  this  could  occur  sometimes  without 
your  knowing  it,  then  why  couldn’t  it  happen  many  times  and 
you  never  suspect  it?  How  do  you  know  that  it  doesn’t  hap¬ 
pen  every  day?  In  short  how  do  you  know  that  you  are  not 


METHODS  OF  CREATING  DESIRE 


131 

losing  a  large  sum  every  year  because  you  are  not  equipped 
with  an  up-to-date  cash  register  system?” 

This  is  a  perfectly  logical  climax.  Hardly  any  dealer  can 
dodge  this  last  question  or  fail  to  be  impressed  by  the  state¬ 
ment,  because  he  has  been  compelled  to  admit  the  truth  of  all 
the  premises.  As  before  mentioned,  when  the  time  arrives  to 
close  the  sale,  success  will  depend  largely  upon  whether  the 
customer  has  mentally  admitted  to  himself  that  the  offer  in¬ 
cludes  all  the  advantages  claimed  for  it.  Unless  the  customer 
can  be  made  to  see  these  advantages  as  the  salesman  sees  them 
and  to  acknowledge  that  he  believes  in  them,  he  may  apparently 
be  listening  to  the  argument  and  at  the  same  time  be  actually 
churning  over  in  his  mind  reasons  why  he  should  not  buy; 
sooner  or  later  these  will  find  expression.  By  pinning  the 
prospect’s  mind  down  to  an  acknowledgment  of  the  claims 
made,  one  by  one,  the  salesman  gradually  carries  him  along 
the  mental  journey  that  leads  away  from  objections  to  the  buy¬ 
ing  point. 

The  Time  for  Silence — There  is  a  time  to  be  silent  as 
well  as  to  talk — even  in  salesmanship.  The  salesman  who 
thinks  that  he  must  do  most  of  the  talking  and  that  he  is  win¬ 
ning  over  his  customer  only  when  he  hears  the  sound  of  his 
own  voice,  greatly  injures  his  chance  of  making  a  sale.  He 
should  guard  against  presuming  to  give  advice  to  a  customer 
who  neither  asks  for  it  nor  wants  it,  and  above  all,  advice  of 
a  technical  nature  to  the  man  who  undoubtedly  knows  his  own 
business  much  better  than  the  salesman. 

The  representative  of  a  lithographing  house  called  on  the 
advertising  manager  of  a  large  company  to  show  several 
samples  and  designs  suitable  for  advertising  show  cards.  He 
opened  the  interview  in  this  way : 

“We  do  work  for  the  Star  Packing  Company,  the  Able  Bis¬ 
cuit  Company,  and  other  large  advertisers.  I  have  a  sketch 


132 


PRINCIPLES  OF  SALESMANSHIP 


here  which  you  will  have  to  admit  is  going  to  sell  some  varnish 
for  you.  One  of  our  artists  drew  it  up  and  the  minute  I  saw  it 
I  knew  it  was  just  the  thing  for  your  line.  It  is  only  a  small 
sketch,  of  course,  but  we  can  elaborate  on  it  if  it  appeals  to 
you.” 

All  this  and  much  more  the  salesman  reeled  off  while  he 
untied  his  parcel  and  placed  the  sketch,  to  which  he  had  re¬ 
ferred  so  triumphantly,  in  the  center  of  the  buyer’s  desk. 

“You  see,”  he  began  again,  “we  can  put  some  copy  right 
across  the  sky  if  you  want  us  to.  Some  little  slogan  like  ‘The 
Varnish  of  Value’  will  be  enough,  and  down  in  this  corner 
you  ought  to  put  the  price  and  .  .  .  ” 

He  got  no  further.  The  irate  buyer  swung  round  in  his 
chair  and  fiercely  faced  the  salesman. 

“See  here,”  he  snapped  out,  “are  you  or  am  I  the  advertis 
ing  manager  for  this  concern?  Do  you  or  do  I  know  what  we 
need  and  what  copy  to  use?  If  you  will  shut  up  for  a  minute 
and  give  me  time  and  opportunity  to  collect  my  thoughts  I 
will  try  to  see  if  we  can  make  any  use  of  this  idea.  You  have 
been  doing  a  vaudeville  monologue  ever  since  you  came  in  here 
and  you  haven’t  really  said  a  word  yet.  Now  keep  still  and 
give  me  a  chance  to  think.” 

This  anecdote  illustrates  better  than  any  number  of  pre¬ 
cepts  that  during  the  sales  interview  there  is  a  time  to  be  silent 
as  well  as  a  time  to  talk. 

The  Importance  of  Asking  Questions — It  is  a  safe  sur¬ 
mise  that  the  interview  is  progressing  favorably  when  the  cus¬ 
tomer  willingly  and  readily  responds  to  questions.  If  his  atti¬ 
tude  is  cold  and  reserved,  this  very  likely  is  because  he  does  not 
propose  to  buy  a  thing  which  he  thinks  he  does  not  need. 
When,  however,  he  begins  to  realize  the  value  of  the  offer  his 
mental  attitude  changes.  His  interest  gradually  strengthens 
into  a  desire  to  purchase  and  only  his  caution  or  indecision  may 


METHODS  OF  CREATING  DESIRE 


133 


hold  him  back.  Before  this  moment,  questions  should  be 
avoided  by  the  salesman,  but  now  a  few  deft  questions  will  re¬ 
veal  the  hindrance  to  the  consummation  of  the  sale  and  suggest 
arguments  which  will  overcome  the  final  objection.  Or  better 
still,  those  questions  may  relate  to  the  prospect’s  own  business 
and  thus  show  that  the  salesman  is  looking  at  his  offer  from 
the  customer’s  point  of  view. 

Thus  the  adding  machine  salesman  who  has  secured  the 
interest  of  a  prospect  to  the  degree  that  the  latter  is  demon¬ 
strating  the  machine  for  himself,  may  ask  what  system  of 
accounts  is  kept  in  the  office,  how  much  the  bookkeeper  is  paid, 
how  much  overtime  is  worked  when  inventory  is  taken,  how 
long  it  lasts,  how  many  statements  are  sent  out  at  the  end  of 
the  month,  and  questions  of  like  nature,  in  order  to  show  the 
prospective  buyer  exactly  what  saving  the  use  of  the  machine 
will  effect.  A  wholesale  salesman  offering  linoleum  to  a  furni¬ 
ture  dealer  might,  after  interest  is  aroused,  ask  the  merchant 
how  much  he  sold  annually,  with  how  much  advertising,  what 
other  lines  he  was  handling,  and  so  on.  At  the  opening  of  the 
interview  the  merchant  would  resent  queries  of  this  kind  and 
be  disinclined  to  give  such  information.  After  the  interview 
has  commenced  to  progress  favorably  he  will  be  quite  willing 
to  answer.  Obviously  the  replies  to  those  queries  will  enable 
the  salesman  to  make  a  shrewd  guess  as  to  the  best  method 
of  so  wording  his  final  appeal  that  it  will  surely  clinch  the 
sale. 

Developing  Confidence  in  the  Buyer. — Presuming  that 
the  customer  replies  readily  to  the  queries  put  to  him,  this  will 
indicate  that  his  antagonism  to  what  has  seemed  the  unneces¬ 
sary  expenditure  of  money  is  vanishing  and  that  he  is  con¬ 
templating  the  purchase.  For  some  reason  or  other,  however, 
he  may  still  hold  back.  In  all  probability  he  is  a  cautious  or 
procrastinating  type  of  buyer  who  needs  to  have  his  confidence 


134 


PRINCIPLES  OF  SALESMANSHIP 


in  the  merits  of  the  offer  strengthened.  If  he  lacks  this  con¬ 
fidence  he  is  certain  to  postpone  the  purchase  and  perhaps  to 
forego  it  entirely.  The  answers  he  makes  will  enable  the  sales¬ 
man  to  feel  intuitively  where  confidence  is  lacking  and  needs 
to  be  imparted. 

The  furniture  dealer,  for  instance,  may  become  interested 
in  certain  linoleums  and  admit  that  the  prices  are  attractive. 
But  if  he  hesitates  for  any  length  of  time  before  deciding  to 
buy,  it  is  safe  to  infer  that  he  mistrusts  some  other  phase  of  the 
offer.  He  may  doubt  whether  the  goods  will  be  equal  to  sample, 
or  whether  deliveries  will  be  made  on  time;  or  any  of  several 
reasons  may  cause  his  indecision.  At  this  point  every  effort 
should  be  made  to  increase  that  confidence  in  the  all-round 
integrity  of  the  offer  which  alone  may  be  needed  to  consum¬ 
mate  the  sale.  The  linoleum  salesman  might  mention  other 
large  concerns  which  buy  his  product,  the  quantity  they  pur¬ 
chase,  and  the  length  of  time  they  have  dealt  with  his  house, 
as  evidence  that  if  such  important  firms  as  these  deal  with  him 
his  product  must  be  all  that  he  claims.  Or  the  salesman  might 
tell  the  prospect  something  about  the  history  of  his  house — 
the  fact  that  they  have  been  in  business  over  fifty  years,  or 
other  information  of  the  same  kind. 

The  Use  of  Testimonials. — In  suitable  cases  the  best  of 
all  means  of  developing  confidence  is  to  place  before  the  buyer 
indorsements  or  testimonials  from  those  who  have  already 
tried  the  product.  This  method  is  of  special  value  in  the  sale 
of  a  specialty  or  when  selling  to  the  consumer  from  house 
to  house. 

An  adept  in  house-to-house  canvassing,  who  sells  soaps 
of  different  kinds  to  the  housewife  when  he  enters  a  town, 
usually  makes  his  first  visit  to  the  chairman  of  the  board  of 
health  (if  there  is  such  a  person),  or  to  other  prominent  citi¬ 
zens,  with  the  object  of  securing  their  indorsement  of  his 


METHODS  OF  CREATING  DESIRE 


135 


goods.  This  indorsement  he  uses  as  a  lever  in  developing  the 
confidence  of  the  housewife.  He  might,  of  course,  carry  with 
him  testimonials  from  people  in  other  towns,  but  he  knows 
from  experience  how  much  stronger  are  local  testimonials 
than  those  of  strangers ;  he  knows  that  in  addition  to  inspiring 
confidence  a  testimonial  signed  by  a  local  user  will  stir  the 
instinct  of  imitation,  the  tendency  to  follow  in  the  footsteps 
of  others. 

Where  Testimonials  Are  Most  Useful. — Testimonials  are 
most  efficacious  when  customers  are  unable  to  estimate  the 
value  of  an  article.  For  example,  in  buying  a  washing  machine 
the  housewife  does  not  assume  to  be  a  competent  judge  of  its 
durability  or  of  the  strength  of  its  mechanism.  She  may  like 
the  machine  and  wish  to  buy  it.  But  if  she  lacks  confidence  in 
her  own  ability  as  a  mechanic  and  wonders  how  much  it  will 
cost  for  repairs,  she  may  refuse  to  make  the  comparatively  big 
investment.  However,  when  the  salesman  puts  statements  be¬ 
fore  her  from  other  users  who  assert  that  they  have  never  had 
any  trouble  with  the  machine,  these  testimonials  give  her  con- 
fidence  in  the  assurance  that  the  device  will  last  for  years 
without  costing  anything  for  repairs. 

In  the  same  way  the  salesman  for  a  business  school  or  a 
correspondence  course  of  instruction  carries  with  him  testi¬ 
monials  from  former  students  to  prove  that  the  course  of 
instruction  has  been  of  great  value  to  others  and  will  therefore 
be  of  equal  value  to  the  prospect.  The  latter  cannot  judge 
from  his  own  observations.  If  the  confidence  needed  to  make 
the  purchase  is  to  be  aroused,  the  claims  made  must  be  sup¬ 
ported  by  proof  that  they  are  reliable  and  in  no  way  exag¬ 
gerated. 

Testimonials — Methods  of  Using. — In  the  case  of  a  pro¬ 
fessional  buyer  or  a  man  who  has  a  technical  knowledge  of  the 


136 


PRINCIPLES  OF  SALESMANSHIP 


goods  offered,  the  salesman  should  not  offer  testimonials  as 
evidence  of  the  truth  of  his  statements.  Such  a  buyer  can  see 
the  quality  for  himself.  To  ask  him  to  base  his  decision  on  the 
judgment  of  others  is  to  cast  a  reflection  upon  his  own  power 
of  judgment.  Inexperienced  buyers  need  to  have  clear  and 
direct  evidence  placed  in  front  of  them.  Experienced  buyers 
may  very  readily  be  repelled  by  this  method. 

The  sale  of  a  specialty  is  frequently  made  to  those  who 
know  little  or  nothing  about  it.  Therefore  the  specialty  sales¬ 
man  often  makes  good  use  of  letters  which  give  the  opinions 
and  experiences  of  users  of  the  goods.  When  he  shows  these 
to  a  doubting  customer  who  lacks  the  necessary  confidence  that 
clinches  a  sale,  he  virtually  says,  “Don’t  rely  merely  upon  what 
I  say !  Here  is  testimony  signed  by  others  as  to  what  my  pro¬ 
duct  has  done  for  them.” 

With  a  wholesale  buyer,  procedure  such  as  the  following 
would  be  preferable :  “Mr.  Robbins  over  in  Watsonville  has 
been  handling  this  line  now  for  three  years.  I  believe  you 
know  him.  On  his  last  order,  which  I  happen  to  have  with  me, 
he  says  it’s  the. biggest  profit-maker  in  his  whole  line — it  took 
much  better  with  his  trade  than  he  expected.”  The  salesman 
can  thus  quietly  and  confidently  intimate  that  the  letter  is  in  his 
possession  to  be  seen  on  request.  He  does  not,  however,  thrust 
it  before  the  buyer  unless  the  latter  reveals  a  desire  to  read  it. 
In  this  way  the  full  value  of  a  strong  testimonial  is  secured 
without  casting  any  reflection  upon  the  judgment  of  the  buyer 
or  arousing  suspicion  that  the  testimonial  in  question  may  exist 
only  in  the  salesman’s  imagination. 

Following  Up  the  First  Visit. — Sometimes,  in  spite  of 

every  effort  to  inspire  the  confidence  needed  to  close,  no  sale 
results.  This  does  not  necessarily  mean  that  the  sale  is  lost  or 
is  impossible.  If  specialty  salesmen  gave  up  a  prospect  after 
the  first  or  second  fruitless  call,  most  of  the  houses  they  repre- 


METHODS  OF  CREATING  DESIRE 


137 


sent  would  go  out  of  business.  A  prospect  who  has  shown 
sufficient  interest  in  any  goods  to  inspect  them  and  ask  ques¬ 
tions  about  them  may  be  a  much  more  likely  customer  at  the 
second  or  third  visit  that  at  the  first.  If,  however,  the  second 
or  any  subsequent  call  is  to  be  fruitful,  the  salesman  must  have 
additional  arguments  ready  and  new  facts  to  bring  forward; 
or  he  should  be  prepared  to  present  his  former  facts  in  a  new 
way.  When  the  prospect  finds  that  he  is  being  told  only  what 
he  has  heard  before,  the  implication  is  that  he  is  simply  being 
urged  to  buy.  He  then  becomes  impatient  and  unresponsive. 
But  when  he  has  once  given  a  responsive  audience  to  the  sales¬ 
man  he  is  doubly  willing  to  hear  anything  further  in  favor  of 
the  goods,  if  the  additional  sales  talk  presents  the  offer  in  a  new 
light  and  is  not  merely  a  repetition  of  what  has  been  explained. 

A  safe  procedure  to  adopt  when  calling  a  second  or  third 
time  is  to  base  the  selling  talk  on  a  different  buying  motive. 
In  opening  the  interview  the  salesman  might  say  that  on  his 
last  visit  he  had  said  all  that  was  necessary  as  to  the  advantages 
of  this  offer  from  one  point  of  view.  He  had,  however,  been 
unable,  through  lack  of  time,  to  discuss  another  and  equally 
important  point,  which  is,  etc.,  etc. 

Thus  an  encyclopedia  salesman,  if  he  is  unable  to  make  a 
sale  on  the  first  visit,  when  his  argument  is  based  on  the  utility 
of  his  books  as  a  mine  of  information,  may  start  his  second 
interview  in  this  way:  “Mr.  Atkins,  I  have  just  sold  a  set  of 
encyclopedia  in  the  limp  leather  binding  to  your  neighbor,  Mr. 
Ellery,  the  president  of  the  Griffingham  Railroad.  Have  you 
considered  what  an  attractive  addition  this  handsome  set  would 
make  to  your  own  library,  etc.?”  This  is  a  direct  appeal  to 
the  initative  tendency  and  often  proves  successful  where  a  for¬ 
mer  mode  of  attack  has  failed. 

Holding  the  Primary  Object  in  View. — However  fluent, 
interesting,  and  instructive  the  argument  may  be,  the  fact  must 


138 


PRINCIPLES  OF  SALESMANSHIP 


be  kept  in  view  that  the  main  object  is  not  to  entertain  and 
instruct,  but  close  the  sale.  One  of  the  disadvantages  of 
learning  a  complete  selling  talk,  or  canvass,  by  rote,  is  that 
the  salesman  may  often  think  that  the  time  has  not  arrived 
to  close  because  he  has  not  completed  the  full  argument.  Then, 
when  the  speech  is  completed  and  the  prospect  fails  to  respond 
with  an  acceptance  of  the  proposition,  the  interview  becomes 
flat  and  depressing.  In  fact,  it  is  likely  to  degenerate  into  an 
effort  to  persuade  the  buyer  to  purchase  against  his  will. 

The  salesman  who  keeps  in  mind  the  primary  object  of  his 
interview  watches  the  buyer  closely.  He  uses  only  those  por¬ 
tions  of  his  sales  arguments  that  naturally  develop  from  the 
attitude  and  the  questions  of  the  listener.  At  the  same  time 
he  loses  no  chance  of  creating  desire  and  closing  the  sale,  be¬ 
cause  he  strives  to  ascertain  from  time  to  time  how  far  the  pros¬ 
pect’s  mental  journey  has  progressed. 

Sound  judgment  and  a  trained  knowledge  of  human  nature 
are  needed  to  select  the  particular  methods  of  appeal  for  var¬ 
ious  occasions  and  for  different  types  of  minds,  to  know  also 
when  enough  has  been  said  of  the  offering  and  its  suitability 
to  the  customer,  and  to  recognize  when  desire  is  sufficiently 
aroused  and  the  appropriate  moment  arrived  to  win  action. 


CHAPTER  XII 


STRAIGHT  THINKING 

The  Nature  of  Reasoning. — Much  of  the  salesman’s  per¬ 
manent  success  depends  upon  his  ability  to  think  and  plan  ahead. 
Without  the  capacity  for  straight  thinking,  the  salesman  either 
becomes  an  opportunist  and  drifts  along  according  to  force  of 
circumstances  or  the  emotional  impulse  of  the  moment. 

An  understanding  of  the  process  of  straight  thinking,  there¬ 
fore,  may  be  deemed  a  necessary  part  of  the  salesman’s  equip¬ 
ment,  for  the  principles  of  logic  must  be  applied  in  answering 
the  every-day  questions  of  business  and  social  life. 

Shall  I  offer  the  agency  for  my  goods  to  Blank  or  to  Dash? 
Why  do  maple  leaves  turn  color  in  the  fall?  Is  the  Monroe 
Doctrine  fair  to  other  nations  beside  our  own  ?  Shall  I  advise 
the  credit  manager  to  extend  further  credit  to  this  dealer? 

None  of  these  questions  can  be  answered  without  employ¬ 
ing  the  reasoning  process.  And,  furthermore,  if  the  answers 
are  to  be  reliable  and  accurate,  they  must  be  free  from  preju¬ 
dices  and  emotional  influences.  The  problem,  in  each  case, 
is  one  of  weighing  and  calculating  the  various  factors  that  are 
in  action  in  any  or  all  of  the  phases  of  the  problem. 

Manifestly  there  are  many  opportunities  for  going  astray 
in  considering  any  of  these.  To  secure  an  accurate  conclusion 
requires  not  only  thorough  familiarity  with  all  the  facts  related 
to  the  question,  but  also  the  ability  to  determine  the  principles 
involved,  the  application  of  these  principles,  their  modification 
by  special  circumstances,  and  all  the  casual  relations  that  can 
effect  the  final  decision. 


i39 


140 


PRINCIPLES  OF  SALESMANSHIP 


For  example,  in  considering  the  question,  “Shall  I  advise 
the  credit  manager  to  extend  further  credit  to  Blank  and 
Company?”  each  of  the  following  points  must  be  carefully 
determined : 

Their  present  indebtedness. 

Their  overdue  account. 

The  reasons  they  offer  for  requiring  an  extension. 

The  general  business  conditions  in  their  line. 

The  special  conditions  in  their  locality. 

The  particular  conditions  that  they  themselves  are  confronted 
with. 

Their  previous  dealings  with  various  firms  in  this  respect 
together  with  the  other  essentials  that  the  precise  cir¬ 
cumstances  would  involve. 

Even  when  each  of  these  factors  had  been  evaluated,  still 
others  might  remain  yet  to  be  examined.  And  if  at  any  point 
in  the  progress  of  the  formation  of  the  decision  an  opinion  is 
inaccurately  formed,  then  the  final  judgment  may  be  wholly 
inaccurate  and  unsound ! 

Now,  inasmuch  as  man’s  memory  is  often  at  fault,  his 
prejudices  unduly  active  and  influential,  and  his  means  of  pre¬ 
cise  observation  decidedly  limited,  it  is  little  wonder  if  his 
opinions  and  decisions  are  erroneous  or  inadequate.  To  put 
it  figuratively,  reasoning  is  like  making  a  chain — if  the  material 
is  unsatisfactory,  if  any  of  the  links  contain  flaws,  or  if  any 
link  is  not  connected  with  its  neighbor,  the  chain  is  unsound. 

Methods  of  Reasoning. — Assuming  that  the  material  is 
satisfactory,  or,  in  other  words,  that  the  knowledge  on  which 
to  base  the  reasoning  is  correct  and  sufficient,  there  still  is 
ample  opportunity  for  mistakes  and  flaws  in  the  making  of 
the  chain  of  reasoning.  Just  as  the  chain-maker  must  know 
how  to  handle  his  materials,  so  the  thinker  must  know  how  to 
handle  the  facts  that  are  to  be  made  into  the  chain  of  reasoning. 


STRAIGHT  THINKING 


141 

The  chief  methods  or  processes  employed  in  reasoning  are 
three :  Inductive,  Deductive,  and  Causational.  The  Inductive 
method  is  that  by  which  we  arrive  at  general  principles  or  laws ; 
the  Deductive  method  is  that  by  which  we  apply  these  laws; 
the  Causational  method  is  that  by  which  we  deal  with  causes 
and  effects. 

The  Inductive  Method — General  principles,  or  laws  of 
action  or  condition,  are  reached  by  studying  individual  cases 
of  a  similar  nature  and  determining  what  occurrences  or 
conditions  are  true  in  every  case. 

Insurance  companies  make  use  of  records  of  an  immense 
number  of  cases,  so  as  to  determine  as  closely  as  possible  how 
great  a  risk  they  are  taking  in  insuring  a  life  or  a  ship  or  a 
house  or  an  automobile.  Sales  managers,  in  planning  a  cam¬ 
paign,  collect  and  study  all  the  data  they  can  procure  in  order 
to  estimate  as  closely  as  possible  the  salable  amount  of  goods, 
the  amount  of  advertising,  the  number  and  kind  of  salesmen, 
the  time  that  will  be  required,  the  cost  of  the  campaign,  and 
other  factors  of  importance. 

The  chief  dangers  in  using  the  Inductive  method  are  those 
of  failing  to  investigate  sufficient  quantities  of  data,  or  to 
collect  the  data  from  sufficiently  diverse  sources,  or  to  examine 
the  data  thoroughly. 

The  essential  points  to  be  kept  in  mind  in  using  the  Induc¬ 
tive  method  are : 

1.  Secure  a  large  quantity  of  data. 

2.  Make  sure  that  the  data  represents  a  wide  range  of 

sources. 

3.  Examine  the  data  thoroughly  for  errors  or  omissions. 

Failure  to  observe  any  one  of  these  essential  may  easily 
lead  to  error.  For  instance,  a  wholesale  salesman  declined  the 
territory  assigned  him,  saying,  “No  one  can  succeed  there. 


142 


PRINCIPLES  OF  SALESMANSHIP 


I  never  knew  of  anyone  yet  who  could  make  a  living  in  that 
district.”  True,  he  had  known  of  half  a  dozen  men  who  had 
failed  in  that  territory.  But  he  was  at  fault  on  each  of  the 
three  points  cited  above.  In  the  first  place,  these  six  failures 
counted  for  little  or  nothing  when  contrasted  with  the  hundreds 
of  salesmen  who  at  that  very  moment  were  making  a  first- 
class  living  in  that  region.  In  the  second  place,  these  six  sales¬ 
men  were  none  of  them  first  class  and  they  all  sold  much  the 
same  line  of  goods,  a  line  that  was  not  especially  like  that 
which  this  salesman  was  to  handle.  In  the  third  place,  two  of 
them  had  only  worked  in  that  territory  for  a  few  months, 
another  had  resigned  because  of  ill  health,  the  fourth  had  been 
very  successful  until  his  latest  trip,  and  the  other  two  were 
obviously  unfitted  for  their  work. 

In  fact,  when  the  sales  manager  showed  the  reluctant  sales¬ 
man  the  statistics  of  the  retail  business  in  that  territory  for 
the  past  ten  years,  the  salesman  saw  plainly  enough  that 
a  good  many  wholesale  salesmen  must  have  been  taking 
satisfactory  orders. 

The  correct  conclusion  to  be  drawn  from  the  data  was, 
“Every  salesman  in  this  territory  has  an  opportunity  to 
succeed.” 

The  process  or  method  of  Induction,  then,  is  the  one  by 
which  we  proceed  from  individual  cases  to  a  general  principle. 

The  Deductive  Method. — When  once  a  general  principle 
has  been  established,  it  can  be  applied  to  individual  cases.  For 
example,  if  we  know  that  every  salesman  in  this  territory  has 
an  opportunity  to  succeed,  then  we  likewise  know  that  any 
individual  salesman  in  that  territory  has  that  opportunity. 
To  put  it  in  the  complete  form  of  the  syllogism  (a  Greek 
expression  meaning  “thought-combination”)  : 

Every  salesman  in  this  territory  has  the  opportunity  to 
succeed. 


STRAIGHT  THINKING 


143 


John  Jones  is  a  salesman  in  this  territory. 

John  Jones  has  the  opportunity  to  succeed. 

One  danger  that  may  occur  in  using  the  Deductive  method 
is  readily  shown  in  the  following  case : 

All  Frenchmen  are  Europeans. 

All  Germans  are  Europeans. 

All  Frenchmen  are  Germans. 

— which  is  absurd.  The  error  here  lies  in  the  use  of  a  means 
of  comparison  or  measurement,  “Europeans,”  which  is  so 
broad  that  it  includes  ideas  that  are  not  necessarily  identical 
with  each  other.  It  is  like  trying  to  measure  a  quart  of  milk 
in  a  5-gallon  can,  or  trying  to  estimate  the  difference  between 
two  shades  of  blue  in  the  wallpapers  in  two  separate  houses 
with  no  other  color  guide  than  a  piece  of  black  paper. 

Another  error  is  illustrated  below : 

Some  barrels  are  made  of  wood. 

This  ash  can  is  not  made  of  wood. 

This  can  is  not  a  barrel. 

9 

— which  may  or  may  not  be  true.  Here  the  mistake  lies  in 
assuming  that  what  is  true  of  some  barrels  is  true  of  all. 

The  Causational  Method. — This  process  deals  with  cause 
and  effect.  In  it  both  Inductive  and  Deductive  methods  are 
used  so  that  it  is  not  an  entirely  different  method  of  reasoning, 
but  is  instead  a  combination  of  methods  of  forming  accurate 
judgments  that  applies  only  when  causes  or  effects  are  in 
question.  Under  this  general  heading  there  are  four  sub¬ 
divisions  :  Reasoning  from  Cause  to  Effect ;  from  Effect  to 
Cause;  from  Effect  to  Effect;  and  from  Resemblance. 

Reasoning  from  Cause  to  Effect. — In  order  to  produce  a 
desired  effect  or  result  we  must  know  what  force  to  put  in 


144 


PRINCIPLES  OF  SALESMANSHIP 


action.  This  whole  volume  is  a  study  of  the  forces  by  means 
of  which  sales  are  made.  It  seldom  happens  that  one  single 
force  or  agency  is  sufficient  to  produce  a  desired  effect.  Even 
in  so  apparently  simple  an  act  as  ringing  an  electric  bell  there 
must  be  a  push  button  or  a  switch,  each  part  of  which  must 
be  properly  adjusted,  likewise  insulated  wires  that  connect  the 
button  with  the  bell  and  the  battery,  also  a  battery  or  other 
source  of  electric  power  of  the  right  kind  and  quantity,  and 
lastly  a  bell  whose  delicate  mechanism  is  free  from  flaw.  An 
apparently  trifling  defect  anywhere  among  these  numerous 
agencies  might  prevent  the  pressing  of  the  button  from 
sounding  the  bell. 

The  chain  of  causal  links  that  connects  a  cause  with  the 
intended  effect  may  be  exceedingly  lengthy  and  intricate.  To 
reason  from  a  known  cause  for  the  purpose  of  determining 
what  effect  will  be  produced  is,  then,  a  complex  and  at  times 
insoluble  problem.  Even  in  the  most  ordinary  cases  allow¬ 
ance  must  be  made  for  possible  influence  of  many  agencies 
beside  the  original  cause  with  which  the  action  is  to  begin. 
Unless  the  relation  between  the  cause  and  the  effect  is  exceed¬ 
ingly  close,  it  is  rarely  possible  to  be  absolutely  certain  that 
the  effect  desired  will  be  produced. 

A  letter  ordering  goods  is  dictated.  The  goods  will  be 
received,  if  the  letter  is  written,  signed,  mailed,  delivered, 
opened,  read,  etc.  But  in  the  course  of  its  brief  history  a  mul¬ 
titude  of  opportunities  are  present  that  may  lead  to  unexpected 
results. 

Reasoning  from  Effect  to  Cause. — So,  too,  in  reasoning 
from  an  effect  back  to  its  cause  there  is  great  possibility  of 
error.  The  telephone  rings;  the  cause  is  usually  the  same — 
the  operator  has  put  the  ringing  apparatus  in  action;  but 
sometimes  a  flash  of  lightning  or  a  current  from  a  crossed  wire 
will  produce  the  same  result.  You  have  bad  dreams;  is  it  due 


STRAIGHT  THINKING 


145 


to  anxiety,  excessive  fatigue,  indigestion,  exciting  literature, 
or  to  some  combination  of  these,  or  even  to  another  cause  or 
group  of  causes? 

A  buyer  places  an  order  and  later  on  cancels  it.  The 
reason  for  the  cancellation  may  be  that  the  salesman  had  not 
thoroughly  convinced  the  buyer;  that  the  buyer  found  he  had 
ample  goods  in  stock;  or  that  a  rival  salesman  had  “switched” 
the  order  by  offering  lower  prices  or  better  terms. 

Reasoning  from  Effect  to  Effect. — This  is  another  vari¬ 
ant  of  the  same  process.  The  presence  of  an  effect  known  to 
be  due  to  a  certain  cause  leads  to  the  conclusion  that  another 
effect  of  that  cause  will  also  be  evident  upon  inquiry.  A  red 
sunset  is  usually  followed  by  a  clear  morrow;  but  the  sunset 
is  not  the  cause  of  fair  weather;  both  are  the  effects  of  causes 
that  are  less  apparent.  Confusion  and  consequent  error  are 
common  here  as  in  the  preceding  cases. 

A  salesman  sees  a  delivery  wagon  loading  goods  from  a 
store.  The  store  looks  disorderly  and  dirty.  Such  conditions 
are  common  when  a  store  is  forced  out  of  business — yet  the 
retailer  may  be  moving  to  a  larger  store  in  a  busier  location. 

Reasoning  from  Resemblance. — A  likeness  between  two 
events  or  two  objects  inevitably  leads  to  the  inquiry :  Are  these 
related  to  each  other?  Yet  in  many  cases  the  resemblance  is 
after  all  superficial  and  the  causes  unlike.  An  artificial  chrys¬ 
anthemum  may  deceive  the  eye  completely,  yet  the  true  flower 
and  the  imitation  are  totally  different  products  of  unrelated 
origins. 

The  Basis  of  Causational  Reasoning. — In  order  to  avoid 
the  errors  that  are  constantly  liable  to  occur  in  the  various 
forms  of  Causational  Reasoning,  the  following  safeguards  are 
employed,  sometimes  singly  but  more  often  collectively.  With- 


146 


PRINCIPLES  OF  SALESMANSHIP 


out  their  use  reasoning  becomes  guesswork,  which  is  not 
reasoning  at  all  but  the  mere  shadow  of  rational  thought.  Upon 
these  principles  of  thought,  then,  all  reasoning  that  relates  to 
cause  and  effect  must  rest. 

1.  Constant  Agreement.  Where  an  occurrence  is 
always  followed  by  a  certain  other  occurrence,  a  causal  relation 
exists ;  the  first  need  not  necessarily  be  the  cause  of  the  second, 
since  both  may  be  the  product  of  a  common  cause.  The  red 
sunset  followed  by  clear  weather  illustrates  this  point ;  a  causal 
relations  exists,  both  the  occurrences  being  due  to  the  same 
meteorological  conditions.  A  salesman  selling  chocolates  says 
to  buyers,  “These  smell  delicious.”  He  notes  that  customers 
always  smell  the  proffered  box.  He  knows,  therefore,  that 
he  may  be  sure  that  a  person  will  smell  the  chocolates  if  he 
merely  says,  “These  smell  delicious.” 

2.  Constant  Difference.  Where  the  absence  is  always 
accompanied  by  the  absence  of  a  certain  other  occurrence,  a 
causal  relation  exists.  A  watch  that  has  no  mainspring  will 
not  go;  on  discovering  that  this  is  always  true  of  a  number 
of  watches,  the  conclusion  is  reached  that  the  absence  of  the 
spring  is  connected  with  the  watch’s  failure  to  go.  But  notice 
that  unless  the  normal  watch,  in  which  the  mainspring  is 
present,  has  been  studied,  the  absence  of  the  vital  part  might 
not  be  noted.  Hence  it  is  customary  for  the  process  of  Con¬ 
stant  Agreement  to  be  used  together  with  that  of  Difference — 
after  noting  that  the  watch  goes  when  wound  (Agreement), 
one  naturally  lets  the  watch  run  down  in  order  to  discover 
whether  the  absence  of  winding  will  prevent  the  watch  from 

going  (Difference).  I 

The  retail  salesman  who  makes  out  his  sales  slips  accurately 
notices  that  his  goods  are  delivered  promptly;  yet  when 
another  salesman  takes  orders  from  the  same  people  difficulties 
arise.  The  reason  is  that  the  second  salesman  is  careless  in 
writing  out  the  full  name  and  address  of  the  customer. 


STRAIGHT  THINKING 


147 


3.  Observation  of  Residues.  This  process  is  employed 
in  cases  where  an  effect  may  be  due  to  one  or  more  of  a 
number  of  possible  causes;  by  eliminating  cause  after  cause 
the  actual  cause  at  work  in  this  particular  instance  is  detected. 
For  example,  the  engine  of  an  automobile  refuses  to  start. 
The  cause  of  the  trouble  may  be  any  one,  or  more,  of  a  con¬ 
siderable  number  of  possible  causes,  such  as  lack  of  gasoline, 
clogged  feed  pipe,  faulty  adjustment  of  the  carbureter  or  of 
the  timer,  worn-out  coil  points,  short-circuited  or  broken  wir¬ 
ing,  etc.  The  only  method  of  determining  which  of  the  many 
possibilities  is  the  source  of  the  trouble  is  to  use  the  process 
of  Observation  of  Residues,  checking  it  by  means  of  Agreement 
or  Difference. 

4.  Concurrent  Variations.  Occurrences  that  coincide 
regularly  with  regard  to  their  place,  or  time,  or  intensity,  or 
direction,  etc.,  are  extremely  likely  to  be  causally  related.  The 
causal  connection  must,  however,  be  tested  by  Agreement, 
Difference,  or  Residues.  The  following  illustrations  show  the 
use  of  this  process. 

By  striking  a  piano  key  with  varying  force  one  promptly 
finds  that  the  intensity  of  the  tone  varies  directly  with  the 
intensity  of  the  stroke.  The  rise  and  fall  of  the  tide  is  found 
to  concur,  in  the  length  of  interval,  with  the  amount  of  time 
required  for  the  moon’s  circuit  about  the  earth;  this  coinci¬ 
dence  leads  to  further  investigation  that  proves  beyond  doubt, 
by  Residues,  that  the  moon  is  the  chief  cause  of  the  tides. 

For  many  years  malaria  was  attributed  to  the  mists  that 
arose  from  swampland  at  night,  because  many  people  exposed 
to  that  night  vapor  suffered  from  malaria,  whereas  those  who 
were  out  of  doors  in  that  region  during  the  daytime  only  were 
not  nearly  so  subject  to  the  disease.  This  concurrence,  how¬ 
ever,  was  not  one  of  direct  causation ;  further  investigation 
showed  that  the  malaria  germ  was  carried  by  a  mosquito, 
native  to  the  district,  that  was  far  more  active  by  night  than 


148 


PRINCIPLES  OF  SALESMANSHIP 


by  day.  The  concurrent  variation  served  as  a  guide  to  the 
true  cause,  although  it  was  wrongly  interpreted  until  the 
methods  of  Agreement,  Difference,  and  Elimination  could  be 
brought  into  use.  The  use  of  Residues  showed  that  the  damp 
air,  by  itself,  was  not  the  cause  of  malaria,  and  likewise  that 
the  night  air,  the  drinking  water,  the  local  fruits,  vegetables, 
and  other  foods,  and  other  possible  agencies  were  none  of 
them  the  causes,  but  that  the  bite  of  a  mosquito  might  be  the 
cause.  The  method  of  Agreement  then  demonstrated  that  a 
large  proportion  of  those  bitten  by  a  certain  genus  of  mosquito 
became  infected  with  a  germ  and  suffered  from  malaria. 
Agreement  further  showed  that  those  who  did  not  contract 
malaria  from  the  bite  of  this  mosquito  were  immune  from 
malaria.  Difference  then  proved  that  those  who  were  not  bitten 
did  not  contract  the  disease  unless  the  germ  were  introduced 
into  blood  vessels — an  occurrence  that  was  exceedingly  rare 
except  through  the  mosquito  bite. 

A  New  York  salesman  was  sent  to  open  a  new  territory  in 
the  Southwest.  After  several  weeks  of  fruitless  work  he 
decided,  that  there  was  no  market  for  his  goods.  Yet  similar 
goods  were  being  sold.  He  then  attributed  his  non-success  to 
the  price  and  terms  of  his  goods;  but  they  were  as  favorable 
as  competitors’.  Possibly  the  trouble  lay  in  the  poor  work 
done  by  a  dishonest  agent  who  had  once  represented  the  house ; 
yet  business  was  as  bad  in  territory  never  covered  by  the  agent 
as  that  in  which  he  had  operated.  Eventually  he  discovered 
that  his  manner  and  unconscious  boasting  of  “coming  from 
the  East”  was  the  prime  cause  of  the  trouble,  for  the  natives 
were  irritated  at  his  manner. 

The  Tendency  to  Err  in  Reasoning. — Reasoning  takes 
time;  although  our  minds  are  active  and  often  travel  by  leaps 
and  bounds,  yet  we  cannot  afford  to  base  our  judgments  upon 
rash  or  hasty  thinking.  Deliberate,  thorough  examination  of 


STRAIGHT  THINKING 


149 


all  the  data  from  several  points  of  view,  without  prejudice, 
is  essential.  During  this  patient  inquiry  and  reflection  we 
usually  employ  not  one  or  two  but  practically  all  the  methods 
that  have  been  discussed  in  the  foregoing  pages.  Yet  even 
under  the  most  favorable  conditions  the  human  mind  is  likely 
to  err;  it  is  stored  with  a  vast  amount  of  information  on  a 
myriad  of  topics;  to  reject  all  thoughts  and  ideas  except  those 
bearing  directly  on  the  subject  under  consideration  is  almost 
if  not  wholly  impossible,  even  for  a  highly  trained  and  organ¬ 
ized  intellect ;  likewise  to  reason  without  following  some  bypath 
leading  to  error  is  exceedingly  difficult.  This  tendency  to  false 
conclusions  is,  in  fact,  so  marked  and  so  serious  that  it  is 
worth  while  for  us  to  spend  some  time  listing  and  examining 
the  chief  errors  that  the  mind  is  likely  to  make. 

# 

Fallacies — Errors  of  Reasoning. — Any  mistake  that 
occurs  in  the  process  of  reaching  a  conclusion  is  termed  a 
“fallacy”  (from  the  Latin  word  f alias v,  deceptive).  The 
classification  of  fallacies  includes  three  main  divisions;  falla¬ 
cies  of  Observation,  of  Expression,  and  of  Thought. 

Fallacies  of  Observation. — Our  senses  are  the  means  by 
which  we  make  observation.  The  likelihood  of  error  due  to 
deception  of  the  senses  is  obvious  in  the  case  of  the  moving 
pictures,  and  also  is  apparent  when  we  try  to  locate  the  source 
of  a  distant  sound.  A  still  more  striking  instance  is  that 
almost  all  smokers  are  unable  to  enjoy  smoking  in  the  dark; 
although  the  pleasure  in  smoking  would  appear  to  be  based 
upon  the  sense  of  taste  and  smell,  yet  the  inability  to  see  the 
smoke  admittedly  detracts  so  much  from  the  enjoyment  that 
but  few  blind  men  are  smokers. 

Errors  in  thought  not  only  arise  from  mistaken  sense  per¬ 
ception,  but  also  from  inability  to  perceive  the  whole  of  an 
occurrence.  Sleight  of  hand  tricks,  in  which  the  magician 


PRINCIPLES  OF  SALESMANSHIP 


150 

causes  a  card  or  a  ball  to  appear  and  disappear,  are  a  common 
instance  of  the  tendency  of  the  mind  to  assume  full  knowledge 
of  what  has  happened,  when  in  reality  the  observer  has  been 
in  such  a  position  that  he  could  not  possibly  determine  what 
had  been  done.  Witnesses  in  court  frequently  display  wide 
discrepancies  in  their  accounts  of  automobile  accidents  and 
similar  events.  This  is  to  be  expected,  for  the  majority  of 
our  acts  are  performed  in  quick  response  to  occurrences  that 
we  have  but  partly  observed.  A  ball  player  involuntarily  pre¬ 
pares  to  catch  the  ball  when  he  sees  another  player,  who  has  the 
ball,  go  through  the  motions  of  throwing  to  him ;  a  commuter, 
although  he  has  been  reading  the  evening  paper  from  the 
moment  he  got  on  the  train,  automatically  realizes  when  he 
is  nearing  his  station.  Furthermore,  errors  in  observation  are 
inevitable  when  our  attention  is  directed  to  some  other  matter 
than  that  which  happens  to  be  the  source  of  the  mistake.  A 
salesman  who  is  absorbed  in  displaying  his  goods  may  not 
notice  that  his  listener  has  become  indifferent ;  the  listener  may 
be  so  interested  in  the  salesman’s  remarks  that  he  does  not 
see  that  the  time  for  another  appointment  is  already  past.  For 
this  reason  great  care  must  be  taken  to  observe  and  to  test 
observations  of  any  data  that  are  involved  in  matters  of 
reasoning. 

Fallacies  of  Expression. — Language,  the  medium  through 
which  we  commonly  express  thought,  is  by  no  means  perfect. 
Absolute  accuracy  of  statement  is  difficult  because  most  words 
have  a  breadth  of  meaning  that  permits  more  than  one  inter¬ 
pretation  and  also  because  the  accent  or  emphasis  placed  on  a 
word  may  lead  to  misunderstanding. 

Error  Arising  from  Ambiguity. — The  use  of  a  word  in  a 
manner  that  suggests  or  permits  more  than  one  interpretation 
is  an  error  in  ambiguity.  The  following  examples  illustrate 


STRAIGHT  THINKING 


151 

this  point.  ‘‘The  exception  proves  the  rule,”  is  commonly  used 
as  if  it  meant,  “the  existence  of  an  exception  to  the  rule  shows 
that  the  rule  is  sound,”  whereas  the  actual  meaning  is,  “the 
existence  of  an  exception  is  a  test  of  the  rule’s  value.”  “Strych¬ 
nine  is  a  poison;  this  medicine  contains  strychnine;  therefore 
this  medicine  is  a  poison”;  but  whether  the  medicine  is  poison¬ 
ous  depends  on  the  quantity  of  strychnine  in  each  dose.  This 
type  of  error  is  especially  common  in  the  use  of  familiar  and 
general  expressions,  such  as  “Southerner,”  “American,”  “Re¬ 
publican,”  “poor,”  “good,”  and  the  like,  which  are  capable 
of  a  variety  of  meanings.  And  although  the  precise  interpre¬ 
tation  intended  can  often  be  determined  from  the  context,  yet 
this  is  not  always  the  case. 

Error  Arising  from  Accent  or  Emphasis. — In  listening  to 
a  speaker  we  depend  upon  the  stress  that  he  lays  on  his  words 
to  indicate  his  precise  meaning.  If  the  stress  is  vague  or  if  it 
is  misplaced,  uncertainty  or  downright  miscomprehension  may 
result.  Note  the  following  illustrations  of  this  point:  A  line 
in  Tennyson’s  fine  poem,  “The  Revenge,”  is  often  read  as 
follows :  “And  the  lion  there  lay  dying,  and  they  yielded  to 
the  foe”  ;  but  the  stress  should  be  placed  on  “lion”  in  contrast 
to  the  less  courageous  temper  of  the  rest,  who  yielded.  Another 
line  frequently  misread  is  the  famous  quotation  from  Shake¬ 
speare’s  “Merchant  of  Venice,”  “The  quality  of  mercy  is  not 
strained,”  in  which  few  people  except  actors  or  experienced 
readers  ever  think  of  emphasizing  the  most  significant  word 
in  the  line — “not.” 

Fallacies  of  Thought. — Under  this  heading  come  a  large 
number  of  errors  that  may  be  classified  in  various  ways;  the 
two  main  divisions  and  their  subdivisions  should  be  kept  clearly 
in  mind,  but  the  minor  classifications  are  more  for  the  sake 
of  indicating  minor  distinctions  than  for  common  use.  The 


152 


PRINCIPLES  OF  SALESMANSHIP 


two  main  divisions  are  Logical  Errors  and  Psychological 
Errors;  the  former  consisting  of  errors  in  pure  reasoning,  the 
latter  consisting  of  errors  due  to  emotional  or  instinctive 
prejudices. 

Logical  Errors. — The  term  “Logical  Errors”  is  applied  to 
errors  in  the  application  of  the  methods  of  reasoning — Induc¬ 
tive,  Deductive,  and  Causational — already  described.  The 
classification  that  follows  gives  such  errors  under  a  rather 
different  grouping.  The  chief  divisions  here  made  are  two : 
False  Presumption,  under  which  come  False  Assumption  and 
Arguing  in  a  Circle;  and  False  Cause. 

False  Presumption. — The  first  type  of  error  under  this 
heading,  False  Assumption,  consists  in  assuming  as  true  some 
point  that  still  requires  proof.  For  instance,  to  assume  that 
modern  life  rests  on  a  commercial  basis,  although  apparently 
free  from  danger,  is  to  assume  as  true,  a  point  that  can  be 
disputed.  Many  people  assume  that  liberty  implies  freedom 
to  do  as  they  please,  provided  that  they  do  not  interfere  with 
the  safety,  convenience,  or  liberty  of  others.  Yet  this  definition 
can  be  questioned  and  should  be  proved  before  it  is  used  as 
a  presumption  on  which  to  base  an  argument.  Salesmen  are 
apt  to  assume  that  a  prospective  customer  is  familiar  with 
their  commodity;  yet  the  assumption  should  not  be  made 
without  first  obtaining  adequate  proof.  Errors  in  Inductive 
and  Deductive  Reasoning  and  in  Reasoning  from  Resemblance 
are  in  this  class. 

The  second  type  of  error,  under  the  heading  of  False  Pre¬ 
sumption,  is  that  of  Arguing  in  a  Circle.  It  consists  of  proving 
a  statement  by  using  a  part  or  even  the  whole  of  that  statement 
as  its  own  proof.  For  example,  people  sometimes  argue  that 
in  order  to  meet  the  high  cost  of  living  wages  should  be  raised, 
overlooking  the  fact  that  increased  wages  lead  at  once  to 


STRAIGHT  THINKING 


153 

increased  prices.  Their  error  lies  in  assuming  that  prices  are 
not  related  to  wages. 

Inexperienced  salesmen  frequently  argue  in  a  circle  some¬ 
what  as  follows:  The  people  I  interview  reject  my  offerings 
because  they  are  poor  in  quality;  I  know  that  the  goods  are 
poor  in  quality  because  people  reject  them. 

False  Cause. — This  type  of  error  consists  of  failure  to 
detect  the  true  relations  between  causes  and  results;  the  chief 
subdivisions  are  Inadequate  Cause  and  Interference  of  Other 
Causes. 

The  Inadequate  Cause  appears  in  many  of  the  cases  of  the 
familiar  objection,  “I  can’t  afford  it.”  For  while  this  excuse 
is  occasionally  valid,  yet  it  often  is  not  the  true  cause  of  the 
rejection  of  the  commodity  at  all.  The  actual  cause  commonly 
is  lack  of  desire  or  even  of  interest.  Inadequate  Cause,  then, 
is  the  name  given  to  the  error  that  results  from  attributing  a 
result  to  a  cause  not  powerful  enough  to  produce  that  result. 

Interference  of  Other  Causes,  i.e.,  the  modification  of  a 
result  through  the  action  of  additional  causes  besides  that 
under  consideration,  is  likewise  rather  frequent.  A  salesman 
sees  that  a  customer  is  paying  little  or  no  attention  to  his 
remarks ;  he  assumes  that  his  words  and  his  demonstration 
are  lacking  in  force  or  vividness,  whereas  this  may  not  be  the 
case.  His  presentation  of  his  sales  argument  may  be  unusually 
able,  but  none  the  less  the  customer’s  attention  may  be  diverted 
by  matters  that  he  knows  require  his  presence  elsewhere.  This 
point  is  well  illustrated  in  the  examples  under  “Concurrent 
Variations,”  page  147.  In  analyzing  failure  to  make  a  sale, 
there  is  special  need  for  guarding  against  this  error,  for  clearly 
a  number  of  widely  varied  causes  may  have  operated  in  con¬ 
junction  to  prevent  the  sale,  and  yet,  on  the  other  hand,  there 
may  have  been  but  one  factor  that  “killed”  action.  An  analysis 
of  causes  consequently  requires  a  large  amount  of  data  and  a 


154 


PRINCIPLES  OF  SALESMANSHIP 


thorough  familiarity  with  the  subject  as  well  as  with  the 
particular  case  involved. 

Summary  of  Logical  Fallacies. — In  summing  up  Logical 

Fallacies  the  point  to  be  noted  is  that  these  come  in  one  of  two 
general  classes :  failure  to  draw  a  conclusion  accurately — false 
induction  and  deduction,  i.e.,  false  assumption  and  also  arguing 
in  a  circle;  failure  to  calculate  causal  relations,  i.e.,  false  cause. 

Psychological  Fallacies. — There  are  other  errors  in  think¬ 
ing  which  arise  from  misuse  of  persuasion;  they  consist  of 
appeals  to  feelings  or  emotions  when  the  subject  of  the  discus¬ 
sion  does  not  justify  such  an  appeal.  Flattery  is  the  most 
common  form  of  this  class  of  fallacies,  but  unsound  appeals 
to  patriotism,  veneration  for  authority  or  fame,  ignorance,  or 
prejudice — all  these  are  likewise  fallacious,  since  they  in  reality 
are  ignoring  the  actual  merits  of  the  question  and  endeavoring 
to  substitute  emotionalism  for  reasoning. 

For  example,  a  salesman  says,  “You  have  such  a  charming 
home,  Mrs.  Black,  that  I  am  sure  you  will  be  interested  in 
making  a  trial  of  this  vacuum  cleaner.”  But  the  connection 
between  the  charm  of  the  home  and  the  trial  of  the  cleaner 
is  so  slight  that  as  a  piece  of  reasoning  it  is  .fallacious ;  the 
argument  is  flattering  but  not  convincing.  An  advertisement 
of  a  brand  of  axes  might  show  a  picture  of  Lincoln  chopping 
down  a  tree  or  splitting  rails,  but  the  fact  that  Lincoln  made 
a  living  by  swinging  an  axe  is  no  reason  why  you  or  I  should 
buy  that  particular  brand  of  axe,  yet  our  natural  veneration  for 
Lincoln  is  such  that  the  advertiser  relies  on  it  to  secure  at 
least  favorable  attention,  if  not  interest  in  his  wares.  This 
mode  of  influencing  opinion  is  not  an  appeal  to  reason  but 
to  feeling;  regarded  as  reasoning,  it  is  fallacious. 

Sometimes  a  prospective  customer  refuses  to  buy  in  some 
such  words  as  these,  “Of  course,  you  know,  Mr.  Brown,  that 


STRAIGHT  THINKING 


155 


a  man  in  my  position  has  many  calls,  not  only  upon  his  money, 
but  upon  his  time  as  well ;  consequently  you  can  see  that  I 
cannot  feel  justified  in  making  this  purchase  at  present.”  This 
is  all  very  well  if  the  salesman  knows  that  the  facts  are  as 
represented,  but  if  he  does  not  know  this  and  the  speaker  is 
aware  of  his  ignorance,  this  excuse  is  a  piece  of  fallacious 
argument  based  on  the  salesman’s  humanly  natural  reluctance 
to  confess  ignorance. 

The  fallacy  of  prejudice  often  endangers  the  success  of 
the  salesman ;  for  example,  some  people  dislike  anyone  who 
speaks  with  a  drawl,  others  are  distrustful  of  left-handed  per¬ 
sons,  others  do  not  like  to  do  important  business  on  the  thir¬ 
teenth  of  the  month.  None  of  these  objections  is  an  adequate 
reason  for  declining  to  interview  the  salesman,  yet  these  and 
many  other  similar  prejudices  are  often  influential  in  creating 
opposition.  Local  prejudices  are  sometimes  regarded  by  the 
people  who  maintain  them  as  patriotic ;  in  days  gone  by  South¬ 
erners  were  inclined  to  be  proud  of  their  dislike  for  “Yankees” 
and  Westerners  showed  hostility  toward  eastern  products.  In 
some  states  there  used  to  be  a  rather  strong  feeling  that  the 
climate,  the  scenery,  the  crops,  the  schools,  and  everything  that 
characterized  that  state  was  superior  to  similar  products  or 
conditions  elsewhere.  This  narrowness  is  mainly  unreasonable,  • 
yet  it  held  sway  over  the  minds  of  thousands  and  interfered 
with  social  and  commercial  welfare. 

These  psychological  fallacies  are  all  the  more  liable  to 
occur  because  a  psychological  appeal  to  the  emotions  is  justi¬ 
fiable  under  some  circumstances.  Whenever  an  appeal  can  be 
justly  and  reasonably  based  on  patriotism,  the  marked  intelli¬ 
gence  of  the  listener,  veneration  for  noted  persons  or  principles, 
and  the  like,  that  appeal  is  not  fallacious.  The  sale  of  Liberty 
bonds  was  quite  rightly  based  on  an  appeal  to  our  patriotic 
emotions ;  a  salesman  showing  an  encyclopedia  to  a  college  pro¬ 
fessor  is  equally  justified  in  making  it  clear  that  he  regards 


PRINCIPLES  OF  SALESMANSHIP 


156 

the  professor’s  scholarship  with  respect;  the  proprietor  of  a 
hotel  with  a  record  of  celebrated  guests,  such  as  Washington, 
Dickens,  and  Mark  Twain,  is  fully  entitled  to  use  this  list  as 
a  means  of  rousing  interest  in  his  business.  In  each  case  there 
is  a  direct  connection  between  the  emotional  appeal  and  the 
offering.  But  unless  a  sound  connection  of  that  sort  does 
exist  the  emotional  appeal  is  fallacious. 

The  Basis  of  Straight  Thinking — Accurate  use  of  lan¬ 
guage,  thorough  observation  of  all  the  essential  data,  and 
reasoning  that  is  free  from  error,  form  the  foundation  on 
which  sound  judgment  are  based.  Knowledge  alone  does  not 
suffice;  it  is  essential  but  it  avails  little  unless  skilfully  used. 
This  skill  requires  ability  to  select  the  facts  and  other  informa¬ 
tion  that  bear  on  the  case,  to  arrange  these  facts  in  logical 
order,  and  to  avoid  even  the  appearance  of  incomplete  connec¬ 
tion  between  ideas.  In  other  words,  thoroughness  alone  can 
prevent  the  fragmentary  and  irrelevant  disputation  that  all  too 
commonly  is  used  in  the  place  of  an  effective  demonstration 
of  the  commodity. 


CHAPTER  XIII 


EFFECTIVE  DICTION 

The  Language  of  Business. — How  pleasant  it  is  to  listen 
to  people  who  talk  “straight  from  the  shoulder” !  People  who 
do  not  talk  too  much,  who  do  not  hem  and  haw,  who  do  not 
bore  us  with  shopworn  phrases  or  with  needless  details — people 
whose  statements  are  direct  and  bracing,  who  inspire  us  by 
their  manner  and  by  their  ideas. 

This  concise,  precise,  vivid  diction  is  more  highly  valued 
in  the  business  world  today  than  ever  before.  The  salesman 
is  reluctantly  granted  a  moment  or  two  in  which  to  state  his 
errand.  Now,  if  ever,  every  word  must  strike  home.  By  the 
time  he  has  spoken  fifty  words  his  fate  is  settled — either  he 
leaves  at  once,  a  discredited  and  unwelcome  interloper,  or  he 
has  won  his  opportunity  to  present  his  commodity.  Upon  his 
skill  in  choosing  and  arranging  his  words  will  depend  not  only 
his  success  in  gaining  a  hearing,  but  likewise  his  success  in 
making  the  sale. 

Conciseness. — In  being  concise  he  is  thorough,  yet  wastes 
no  words ;  he  is  not  curt,  but  he  does  not  wander  or  hesitate, 
nor  does  he  offer  needless  information.  For  example,  he  would 
never  speak  as  follows:  “Mr.  Jones,  I  have  taken  the  liberty 
of  calling  on  you  this  morning  to  discuss  a  matter  that  our 
firm  regards  as  especially  important  at  the  present  time.” 

Not  a  word  in  the  sentence  indicates  any  adequate  reason 
for  listening  further.  Yet  each  of  those  28  words  gave  the 
speaker  an  opportunity  to  attract  and  even  to  dominate  his 
hearer ! 


i57 


i5« 


PRINCIPLES  OF  SALESMANSHIP 


How  much  better  if  he  had  said,  “Mr.  Jones,  is  your  bank 
account  insured?”  as  the  check  protector  salesman  may  say. 

Precision. — In  being  precise  the  salesman  selects  words  and 
phrases  that  will  convey  his  exact  meaning — words  that  are 
neither  vague  nor  unfamiliar,  but  suited  to  the  subject  and  to 
the  listener.  To  attain  such  accuracy  an  extensive  vocabulary 
is  an  obvious  necessity.  With  experts  the  salesman  must  use 
technical  expressions ;  with  persons  who  are  unacquainted  with 
the  subject  he  must  employ  expressions  and  phrases  that  will 
be  clear  and  definite.  Consider  the  weaknesses  in  the  following : 

“In  regard  to  that  little  matter  we  spoke  of  last  week.” 

“You  will  find  this  a  very  good  book.” 

“The  subject  I  want  to  see  you  about  is  very  interesting.” 

“The  make-ready  is  poor.”  (Clear  only  to  a  printer.) 

» 

Compare  these  sentences  with  those  below : 

“Last  week  we  were  discussing  the  premium  rates  for 
insuring  your  Brookline  motor  service  station.” 

“This  book  is  unusually  clear  and  also  thorough  and 
reliable.” 

“800,000  Americans  read  the  Brown  Magazine  every 
month;  and  everyone  of  them  does  so  because  he  finds  that  it 
satisfied  five  needs.  These  five  needs  of  every-day  people 
are — ” 

“This  oval  patch  at  the  top  of  the  page  is  certainly  lighter 
in  color  than  the  rest ;  the  paper  has  not  been  so  firmly  pressed 
against  the  type  at  this  point.”  (To  one  unfamiliar  with  the 
printing  trade.) 

Vividness. — To  make  a  statement  vivid  use  terms  that 
immediately  rouse  lifelike  and  striking  pictures  in  the  listener’s 
mind.  Manifestly  these  terms  must  be  familiar  and  specific. 
The  value  of  specific  language  has  been  shown  already  in  the 
examples  under  “Precision”;  the  last  of  those  examples  also 


EFFECTIVE  DICTION 


159 


shows  the  need  for  familiar  expressions.  Yet  none  of  the 
examples  is  especially  vivid,  because  the  terms  employed  do 
not  make  the  listener  see  the  lifelike  and  striking  picture  that 
is  essential  to  vividness.  Something  more,  then,  is  needed. 

Consider  the  expression,  “He  works  like  lightning.”  The 
sole  purpose  evidently  is  to  make  a  vivid  impression;  “work” 
and  “lightning,”  at  first  sight,  have  no  relation  to  each  other, 
but  as  the  involuntary  picture  of  a  lightning  flash  passes  before 
the  mind’s  eye  we  recognize  that  its  most  striking  character¬ 
istic  is  speed  and  that  the  speaker  intends  us  to  realize  that 
“the  work  is  done  with  speed  of  a  flash  of  lightning.”  But  to 
use  this  lengthier  way  of  stating  the  fact  would  weaken  the 
vividness  of  the  description  by  making  it  less  striking. 

Again,  in  teaching  geography,  teachers  frequently  say, 
“Italy  is  like  a  boot.”  Clearly  there  can  only  be  one  respect  in 
which  a  country  and  a  boot  can  be  alike  and  that  is  in  the 
shape.  Yet  to  say,  “Italy,  in  its  contour,  somewhat  resembles 
the  long  boot  worn  in  the  seventeenth  century,”  would  be  far 
less  effective.  Here,  too,  the  more  complex  statement  is  less 
vivid. 

To  be  striking,  then,  the  expression  must  be  simple  and 
terse;  to  be  lifelike  it  must  suggest  a  picture  of  a  well-known 
object.  These  are  the  general  principles  to  be  kept  in  mind. 
That  is  to  say,  a  comparison  or  a  contrast  with  some  familiar 
idea  must  be  suggested  in  the  fewest  possible  words. 

Metaphors  and  similes,  the  commonest  of  the  figures  of 
speech,  are  the  most  usual  means  of  making  a  vivid  impression 
by  means  of  a  comparison.  A  simile  states  a  likeness  between 
two  ideas,  especially  those  that  are  unrelated  in  most  respects. 
The  words  “like”  or  “as,”  or  their  equivalents,  are  used.  A 
metaphor  omits  “like,”  “as,”  etc.,  and  boldly  asserts  that  one 
idea  is  the  other.  For  instance,  “Mt.  Blanc  is  the  monarch  of 
mountains”  is  a  metaphor,  while  “Mt.  Blanc  is  like  a  monarch 
of  the  mountains”  is  a  simile. 


i6o 


PRINCIPLES  OF  SALESMANSHIP 


Much  of  the  vernacular,  the  speech  of  every-day  life, 
employs  these  figurative  modes  of  expression.  Slang  is  largely 
the  attempt  of  comparatively  uneducated  people  to  phrase  an 
idea  vividly.  Maxims  and  proverbs  also  show  this  tendency, 
“A  bird  in  the  hand  is  worth  two  in  the  bush,”  “Look  before 
you  leap,”  “A  rolling  stone  gathers  no  moss,”  and  many 
another  saying  reveal  the  rural  life  of  other  days  summing  up 
its  experience  in  picture  language  that  is  out  of  date,  at  least 
for  those  of  us  who  are  brought  up  away  from  village  and 
farm.  Today  we  find  this  vividness  in  business  diction;  trade¬ 
marks,  slogans,  and  advertisements  often  use  words  as  well 
as  pictures  to  “strike”  the  reader’s  mind  sharply  enough  to 
leave  a  lasting  impression  on  his  memory. 

Pleasing  Speech. — The  utterance  as  well  as  the  structure 
of  sentences  and  the  selection  of  phrasing  must  be  given  careful 
attention.  Everyone  takes  pleasure  in  listening  to  a  speaker 
whose  voice  and  whose  speech  are  free  from  coarseness  and 
likewise  from  affectation,  avoiding  both  harshness  and  fastid¬ 
iousness.  For  this  reason  the  following  points  should  be 
noted : 

Oral  Training. — Speaking  voices,  like  singing  voices,  be¬ 
long  in  one  of  three  classes  that  may  be  described  as  tenor,  or 
high;  baritone,  or  medium;  and  bass,  or  low.  But  just  as  a 
singer’s  most  pleasing  tones  are  not  at  the  top  or  the  bottom 
but  at  the  middle  of  his  range,  so  with  the  speaking  voice;  it 
must  not  suggest  shrillness  nor  growling,  nor  must  it  sound 
forced.  Any  tendency  to  a  nasal  tone  or  to  a  thick  “wooly” 
quality  must  also  be  overcome. 

As  we  have  only  a  slight  idea  of  the  actual  sound  of  our 
own  voices,  it  is  necessary  to  secure  the  criticism  of  friends 
who  will  be  frank  and  likewise  sound  in  their  comments.  Once 
aware  of  a  defect,  the  next  step  is  to  imitate  the  sound  as  cor- 


EFFECTIVE  DICTION 


161 


rectly  made  and  to  practice  forming  that  sound  with  especial 
care  to  avoid  relapsing  into  the  former  error. 

This  method  applies  to  the  utterance  of  words,  as  well. 
But  there  are  two  phases  of  the  subject  which  should  be 
distinguished,  namely,  enunciation  and  pronunciation. 

Enunciation. — Enunciation  requires  that  each  letter  should 
be  sounded  clearly  and  accurately,  yet  without  apparent  effort 
or  undue  nicety  or  hesitation.  The  most  frequent  errors  occur 
in  words  that  are  most  commonly  used;  for  example,  the  “h” 
in  “what”  should  be  sounded  slightly,  like  “hwot”  rather  than 
“wot”;  “half”  is  neither  “heff”  nor  “hawf.”  Space  does  not 
permit  detailed  treatment  of  this  point;  those  who  find  that 
their  enunciation  is  weak  should  consult  a  text  on  oral  English, 
such  as  those  listed  at  the  end  of  this  book. 

Each  syllable  of  a  word  should  be  spoken  suitably  in  rela¬ 
tion  to  the  syllable  or  word  that  precedes  and  that  follows. 
Hasty  utterance  leads  to  such  crudities  as,  “Wotcha  gona  tell 
urn?”  or  “  ’S  mos’  xtroarnary  'at  cha  can’  fine  'at  le’er !” — 
meaning  “It  is  most  extraordinary  that  you  cannot  find  that 
letter.”  On  the  other  hand,  fastidious  utterance  leads  to  such 
affectations  as  “naytyure,”  which  should  be  pronounced 
“naytchyoor,”  softening  the  “t”  to  “tch.”  However,  words 
spoken  with  natural  rapidity  group  themselves  in  phrases  that 
are  blended  as  if  the  individual  words  were  merely  syllables  of 
one  long  word;  for  example,  “Not  at  all”  must  be  pronounced 
“Not  tat  tall”  unless  the  separate  words  are  spoken  with  a 
marked  pause  between  them ;  yet  to  speak  naturally  does  not 
mean  blurred  or  slovenly  articulation. 

Pronunciation. — Pronunciation  requires  that  each  word 
should  be  spoken  so  as  to  give  each  letter  and  each  syllable 
its  due  and  no  more;  furthermore,  it  requires  that  the  accent 
fall  on  some  one  syllable  or,  in  long  words,  such  as  “incompre- 


PRINCIPLES  OF  SALESMANSHIP 


162 

hensibility,”  on  two  syllables,  in  accordance  with  the  laws  of 
good  usage.  In  the  case  of  unfamiliar  words,  this  compels 
the  use  of  a  dictionary,  and,  indeed,  the  mispronunciation  of 
many  common  words  is  all  too  frequent  just  because  people 
are  too  lazy  or  indifferent  to  take  the  pains  to  make  sure  of 
their  usage. 

Rate  of  Utterance  and  Pitch  of  Voice. — Monotony,  either 
in  the  rate  at  which  one  speaks  or  in  the  pitch  or  tone  cf  the 
voice,  is  tiresome  and  even  irritating.  The  rate  should  vary, 
slow  speech  being  used  for  emphasis,  moderate  speed  for  ordi¬ 
nary  circumstances,  and  rapid  only  under  unusual  circum¬ 
stances,  as  for  instance,  when  the  listener  is  thoroughly 
acquainted  with  some  data  that  must  be  mentioned.  Rapidity, 
except  under  very  special  conditions,  is  absolutely  to  be 
avoided;  it  leads  to  slovenly  utterance  as  well  as  to  confusion 
and  loss  of  interest.  Simple  and  commonplace  as  the  subject 
may  seem  to  the  salesman,  he  must  recognize  that  to  his  lis¬ 
tener  it  is  probably  neither.  For  the  salesman  to  hurry  through 
his  remarks  is  almost  certainly  a  sign  that  he  does  not  have 
a  high  opinion  of  his  wares,  or  of  his  listener,  or  of  his  argu¬ 
ments.  Deliberate,  thoughtful  diction  is  almost  always  the 
sign  of  well-planned  and  conscientiously  phrased  convictions. 

The  pitch  or  tone  of  the  voice  should  not  only  be  comfort¬ 
able  to  both  speaker  and  listener,  as  has  been  pointed  out  under 
the  topic  of  “Pleasing  Speech,”  but  there  should  also  be  a  rise 
and  fall  in  the  pitch  so  as  to  avoid  monotony  of  tone.  As  a 
rule  emphatic  words  should  not  be  spoken  in  a  higher  key,  as 
many  untrained  and  unthinking  persons  do,  but  in  a  slightly 
lower  and  somewhat  softer  tone;  in  this  way  the  listener  is 
unconsciously  led  to  pay  closer  attention  and  to  feel  more  in 
the  confidence  of  the  salesman.  If  loud  tones  are  ever  employed, 
they  should  be  spoken  at  a  pitch  that  is  below  rather  than  above 
the  average  key.  Higher  pitch  is  apt  to  be  displeasing,  except 


EFFECTIVE  DICTION 


163 


when  the  voice  is  soft.  Above  all  things,  a  “forced”  or  ner¬ 
vously  tense  note  is  most  annoying;  its  effect  is  almost  as 
vexing  as  a  yell  or  a  scream. 

Suiting  the  Diction  to  the  Subject — The  style  or  manner 
of  speech  naturally  varies  with  the  subject.  A  salesman  of 
aluminum  ware  and  a  salesman  of  investment  securities  do  not 
talk  in  the  same  way,  although  they  both  use  the  same  language 
and  use  it  with  accuracy  and  effectiveness.  There  is  no  need 
for  detailed  treatment  of  this  point,  but  it  must  be  kept  in 
mind.  The  one  essential  is  that  unfamiliar  subjects  must  be 
explained  in  detail,  with  simple  and  well-known  words  and 
examples,  whereas  familiar  topics  can  be  passed  over  more 
quickly  though  never  carelessly. 

Suiting  the  Diction  to  the  Listener — Never  talk  either 
“down”  or  “up”  to  a  listener;  if  he  is  less  educated  than  the 
salesman,  that  misfortune  must  not  be  hinted  at  in  any  way. 
Certainly  the  manner  of  speech — especially  as  to  choice  of 
words — must  not  be  over  his  head,  yet  the  use  of  every-day 
terms  does  not  require  the  salesman  to  speak  as  if  he  were 
unaccustomed  to  them  or  as  if  he  found  himself  unable  to  talk 
about  his  commodity  except  in  technical  phrases.  On  the 
other  hand,  if  the  listener  proves  to  be  superior  to  the  salesman 
in  education,  there  is  no  need  to  endeavor  to  appear  to  be  his 
equal  in  learning.  If  the  commodity  is  worth  presenting  for 
his  consideration,  the  listener  will  be  as  appreciative  of  a 
matter-of-fact,  straightforward  talk  as  he  would  if  the  explan¬ 
ation  were  given  in  the  most  abstruse  terminology.  But  in 
either  case  the  salesman  must  work  all  the  more  carefully  for 
conciseness,  precision,  and  vividness. 

Suiting  the  Diction  to  the  Speaker. — Each  of  us  is  a 
definite  personality,  marked  by  habits  and  mannerisms.  Just 


164 


PRINCIPLES  OF  SALESMANSHIP 


as  it  would  be  absurd  for  a  man  with  a  deep  voice  to  talk  in 
a  shrill  falsetto,  so  it  would  be  unwise  to  attempt  unnecessary 
modifications  of  normal  traits  of  diction.  That  is,  while  speech 
must  not  be  slovenly  nor  fastidious,  yet  apart  from  rectifying 
absolute  error,  it  is  best  to  retain  the  pitch  and  rate  that  are 
most  comfortable  together  with  the  natural  style  that  belongs 
to  the  region  where  the  speaker  has  been  brought  up.  For  a 
Southerner  or  a  Westerner  to  try  to  talk  like  a  Bostonian, 
produces  the  impression  of  deliberate  affectation.  To  sum  up 
the  whole  matter,  the  speaker  must  be  at  ease  and  also  appear 
at  ease  with  his  subject,  his  listener,  and  himself. 

Planning  the  Sales  Talk. — Sales  talks  can  rarely  if  ever 
be  planned  so  as  to  deal  most  effectively  with  every  condition 
that  the  salesman  is  likely  to  encounter.  On  the  other  hand, 
failure  to  prepare  a  thorough  mode  of  treatment  for  every 
variety  of  occasion  is  to  invite  disaster.  The  actual  wording 
to  be  used  cannot  always  be  determined,  nor  can  the  order  in 
which  the  selling  points  will  be  presented;  none  the  less,  it  is 
not  only  possible,  but  essential,  that  the  salesman  should  work 
out  a  full  statement  of  each  point  that  is  of  service,  and  also 
that  he  should  make  a  series  of  plans  showing  the  points  to 
be  used  and  the  most  advisable  order  of  using  them  in  all  the 
more  customary  situations  that  he  meets  with. 

The  material  that  he  can  draw  upon  for  his  discussions 
and  demonstrations  is  in  part,  at  least,  provided  by  his  firm. 
It  remains  for  him  to  study  that  material,  adapting  himself 
to  it  as  far  as  possible,  determining  when  and  why  and  how 
he  must  modify  it,  and,  in  a  word,  making  himself  complete 
master  of  every  detail. 

The  Analytical  Outline. — The  most  direct  and  effective 
method  is  that  of  the  analytical  outline.  The  salesman,  after 
a  thorough  study  of  his  commodity,  takes  pencil  and  paper, 


EFFECTIVE  DICTION 


1^5 

together  with  all  the  data  that  he  has  been  able  to  secure  in 
his  study  and  investigation,  and  works  out  the  answer  to  the 
following  questions : 

What  is  the  origin  of  the  commodity? 

How  is  it  made?  Where?  By  whom? 

What  are  its  chief  uses  ? 

Who  are  its  chief  users  ? 

What  are  chief  proofs  of  its  durability,  reliability,  quality, 
accessibility,  serviceability,  economy  of  price,  economy  in 
use,  etc. 

What  other  commodities  serve  the  same  purpose? 

Wherein  is  this  article  superior,  wherein  inferior,  to  those 
others  ? 

What  characteristics  of  the  commodity  are  emotionally  at¬ 
tractive  ? 

What  characteristics  are  logically  attractive? 

Through  this  analysis  the  salesman  covers  every  likely 
selling  point.  His  next  task  is  to  select  these  points  from  the 
mass  of  information  that  he  has  just  assembled  here.  In  mak¬ 
ing  this  selection  he  must  choose  the  unusual  or  novel  points 
for  use  in  securing  attention,  the  emotionally  attractive  for 
rousing  interest,  the  logical  appeal  to  cold  reason  for  creating 
desire,  and  the  most  urgent  and  commanding  of  these  for 
leading  up  to  the  action  at  the  close.  Of  course,  the  precise 
selection  and  order  depend  on  the  prospect’s  nature.  In  selling 
an  automobile  to  a  wealthy  stockbroker  the  arrangement  and 
selection  would  vary  decidedly  from  that  for  use  with  a  high 
school  principal. 

Practice  in  Diction. — Throughout  the  salesman’s  career, 
from  his  earliest  days  until  he  retires  from  the  business  of 
selling,  he  is  forever  trying  out  this  method  and  that  of  pre¬ 
senting  his  arguments,  demonstrating  his  wares,  handling  this 
or  that  objection,  and  so  on.  The  more  alert  and  adroit  the 


1 66  PRINCIPLES  OF  SALESMANSHIP 

salesman,  the  more  you  may  be  sure  he  is  constantly  planning 
and  practicing.  Just  as  Paderewski  and  Heifetz  and  the  other 
masters  of  music  spend  hours  upon  hours  in  daily  exercise, 
so  with  the  salesman.  A  new  mode  of  presentation  of  a  point 
occurs  to  him,  and  at  once  he  tries  it  on  his  friends,  his  family, 
the  elevator  boy,  the  next  customer.  To  him  everyone  who 
can  possibly  be  regarded  as  possessing  a  customer’s  point  of 
view  is  a  target  for  him  to  practice  at.  He  studies  the  effect 
of  each  of  half  a  dozen  modes  of  intonation,  of  a  similar 
number  of  arrangements  of  words  or  of  thoughts;  and  as 
in  these  details,  so  with  the  big,  broad  treatment  of  his  subject. 
He  always  remembers  that  success  in  diction  is  the  result  of 
concentrated  practice  in  thought  and  in  speech. 


CHAPTER  XIV 


OBJECTIONS  AND  HOW  TO  ANSWER  THEM 

The  Necessity  for  Studying  the  Meeting  of  Objections. 

— While  the  salesman  is  explaining  the  advantages  of  the  offer 
in  detail,  the  buyer  as  a  rule  is  carefully  endeavoring  to  detect 
and  weigh  any  possible  disadvantages  from  his  point  of  view 
and  is  reflecting  on  the  reasons  why  he  should  not  buy.  There¬ 
fore  a  sale  of  any  importance  is  rarely  made  without  the  cus¬ 
tomer  raising  several  objections.  In  finding  skilful  and  con¬ 
vincing  replies  for  these  more  or  less  reasonable  objections, 
the  mettle  of  the  salesman  is  put  often  to  a  severe  test  of  mental 
alertness  and  tactful  pertinacity.  He  may  possess  all  the 
requisites  of  appearance,  manners,  courage,  enthusiasm,  and 
knowledge  of  his  goods;  but  if  he  is  nonplused  when  he  meets 
with  any  objection,  whether  arising  from  a  purely  personal 
cause,  or  merely  as  an  excuse  advanced  for  not  buying,  a  large 
percentage  of  possible  sales  will  be  lost. 

When  any  difficulty  is  experienced  in  obtaining  an  inter¬ 
view,  an  argumentative  debate  which  will  call  forth  all  the 
resourceful  reasoning  power  of  the  salesman  may  be  safely 
looked  forward  to.  The  fact  that  the  prospect  grants  the 
interview  reluctantly  indicates  that  he  knows  little  about  the 
goods  or  else  that  he  thinks  they  are  of  little  or  no  use  to  him. 
In  handling  such  a  customer  the  salesman  must  be  primed  to 
meet  every  conceivable  kind  of  objection.  To  equip  himself 
so  that  he  can  surmount  these  obstacles,  he  should  make  a 
practice  of  listing  the  different  reasons  which  buyers  advance 
against  buying.  Then,  in  his  moments  of  leisure,  he  can  con- 

167 


PRINCIPLES  OF  SALESMANSHIP 


1 68 

struct  carefully  reasoned  replies  and  study  the  art  of  presenting 
these  replies  in  an  effective  manner. 

There  is  nearly  always  one  method  of  meeting  an  objection 
which  is  better  than  another,  and  a  third  way  which  is  best 
of  all.  When  the  salesman  knows  that  he  is  prepared  to  answer 
with  a  reasoned  reply  every  argument  against  buying,  however 
trivial  or  irrelevant  these  arguments  may  be,  confidence  in  his 
own  argumentative  powers  increases. 

Never  Openly  Contradict  the  Buyer — Before  we  analyze 
the  most  common  reasons  which  are  advanced  against  buying 
and  study  the  best  way  of  meeting  these  objections,  it  is  well 
to  consider  the  salesman’s  attitude  when  he  is  compelled  to 
contradict  the  buyer.  To  do  this  in  a  way  which  will  in  no 
way  interfere  with  the  amicable  relations  necessary  for  making 
a  sale,  requires  tact  in  a  high  degree  coupled  with  good  humor 
and  perfect  self-control.  If  the  salesman  betrays  by  the  tone 
of  his  voice  that  the  objection  irritates  him,  if  beneath  an 
appearance  of  outward  calm  the  buyer  can  see  that  the  salesman 
is  nettled,  then  the  chance  of  doing  business  diminishes  at 
once.  The  only  way  in  which  the  salesman  can  keep  complete 
command  over  his  irritation  when  an  obviously  foolish  or 
trivial  objection  is  raised  is  both  to  maintain  and  to  show  his 
good  humor. 

Behind  tact  and  good  humor  there  must  also  be  a  quiet 
persistence,  a  steady  determination  to  refuse  to  accept  anything 
excepting  a  downright  “No.”  To  reveal  this  calm  persistence 
the  salesman  must  be  able  to  answer  every  kind  of  objection. 
The  refusal  to  buy  may  be  a  serious  reason  or  a  trivial  excuse. 
Whatever  the  objection,  he  must  convince  the  customer  of  its 
futility  by  the  logical  and  persuasive  force  of  his  reasoning. 

An  able  salesman  rather  courts  an  objection  which  he  can 
meet  effectively.  Only  an  objection  at  which  he  is  nonplused, 
which  he  is  incapable  of  refuting  occasions  him  discomfort. 


OBJECTIONS  AND  HOW  TO  ANSWER  THEM  169 

The  Mental  Indecision  of  the  Buyer. — Let  us  assume  that 
an  interview  has  been  granted,  that  the  proposition  has  been 
explained,  and  that  the  customer  displays  interest  without  rais¬ 
ing  any  serious  objections  to  the  offer.  It  is  then  logical  that 
he  should  express  his  willingness  to  buy;  yet  he  refuses  for  a 
trivial  reason  or  no  expressed  reason  at  all.  To  what  can  this 
refusal  be  due?  Obviously  to  mental  indecision  and  not  to 
any  lack  of  merit  in  the  goods  or  service. 

This  indecision  may  be  due  to  caution,  to  the  habit  of  pro¬ 
crastinating,  to  an  inability  to  make  up  his  mind,  or  to  circum¬ 
stances  which  relate  to  the  customer’s  business  and  of  *vhich 
the  salesman  is  necessarily  ignorant.  It  is  important  for  every 
salesman  to  study  and  develop  the  various  methods  best  suited 
to  his  own  personality  in  handling  the  undecided,  cautious,  or 
procrastinating  buyers.  Experience  shows  that  they  form  the 
majority  of  those  who  turn  down  a  sales  offer  for  a  more  or 
less  trivial  reason. 

Three  Kinds  of  Objections — It  will  help  the  salesman  to 
meet  the  objections  that  are  usually  raised  if  he  will  distinguish 
between  them.  As  a  rule  they  belong  to  either  one  of  three 
classes. 

First,  there  are  the  honest  objections.  Here  the  customer 
is  sincere  in  his  attitude.  He  believes  that  for  the  reason 
alleged  he  cannot  afford  to  take  advantage  of  the  offer.  For 
instance,  a  buyer  may  raise  the  objection  that  he  has  sufficient 
stock  on  hand  and  really  cannot  entertain  the  thought  of  buying 
more  at  the  present  time.  This  may  be  a  perfectly  honest 
answer. 

Objections  of  the  second  class  are  much  more  frequent; 
they  differ  from  honest  reasons  for  not  buying,  in  that  they 
are  usually  trivial  excuses  for  procrastinating.  The  buyer  may 
be  passively  interested  and  may  even  in  a  half-hearted  way 
consider  taking  advantage  of  the  offer.  But,  because  of  an 


170 


PRINCIPLES  OF  SALESMANSHIP 


innate  tendency  to  procrastinate  or  a  dislike  to  make  the 
necessary  expenditure,  he  temporizes.  Not  wishing  to  be  dis¬ 
courteous  by  openly  and  bluntly  stating  that  he  has  no  intention 
of  buying,  he  raises  objections  of  various  kinds  to  hide  his 
true  motive. 

Sometimes  the  buyer  fails  to  become  interested  in  the  offer 
because  the  salesman  has  not  yet  been  given  an  opportunity 
to  explain  its  advantages  clearly.  An  excuse  is  then  proffered 
as  a  reason  for  dismissing  the  salesman,  such  as,  “I  am  too 
busy  to  decide  today,”  or  “I  have  no  money  to  spend.” 

Another  kind  of  excuse  or  reason  for  not  buying  is  that 
frequently  raised  when  competitive  goods  are  being  sold.  The 
object  in  this  case  is  to  secure  a  slight  reduction  in  price  or  a 
larger  discount  than  usual.  A  typical  objection  of  this  kind 
is,  “I  can  buy  at  a  better  price  from  So-and-So.”  In  most 
cases  the  salesman  will  be  able  to  make  a  fairly  shrewd  guess 
whether  the  objection  raised  is  sincere  and  honest  or  is  only  an 
excuse ;  or  whether  it  is  an  effort  to  beat  down  his  price. 

The  third  class  of  objections  are  difficult  to  deal  with,  for 
they  are  unspoken.  Retail  customers  refuse  frequently  to  buy 
without  offering  any  reason  or  excuse.  Wholesale  and  specialty 
buyers  are  not  immune  from  the  unspoken  objection. 

When  no  reason  is  given  for  not  buying,  beyond  a  per¬ 
functory,  “Not  today,”  the  salesman  is  found  with  the  alterna¬ 
tive  of  accepting  the  dismissal  or  ascertaining  the  reason  for 
the  prospect’s  refusal  to  buy.  Adroit  questions  or  even  a  point- 
blank  “Why  not?”  may  prove  advantageous,  but  more  often 
the  salesman  must  sense  the  reason  and  then  answer  it  in  the 
form  of  additional  argument. 

For  example,  many  retail  customers  refuse  to  buy  because 
they  lack  funds  but  dislike  to  admit  it.  In  such  cases  the  sales¬ 
man  may  say,  “Many  people  prefer  to  have  goods  sent  C.  O.  D., 
because  they  dislike  to  carry  much  money  with  them;  should 
you  follow  this  sensible  plan,  it  would  be  a  pleasure  to  send 


OBJECTIONS  AND  HOW  TO  ANSWER  THEM 


171 

this  dress  C.  O.  D.  for  you.”  Other  customers  refuse  to  buy 
for  personal  reasons.  A  person  with  a  deformity  hesitates 
to  buy  anything  that  may  disclose  it.  A  prospect  with  a  griev¬ 
ance,  grief,  or  antipathy  will  not  expose  their  intensely  personal 
feelings  to  the  occasional  salesman. 

Answering  Objections  and  Excuses. — Honest  objections 
must  be  answered  by  earnest,  convincing  reasoning.  If  the 
reply  is  not  sufficiently  convincing  to  refute  the  objection  or 
to  convince  the  buyer  of  his  error,  then  its  existence  must  be 
acknowledged;  but  it  must,  if  possible,  be  immediately  offset 
by  compensating  advantages. 

Excuses  are  best  answered  by  means  of  gentle  ridicule,  the 
object  being  to  turn  the  excuse  into  a  reason  for  buying,  as 
will  be  shown  later;  or  if  the  excuses  are  obviously  trivial  and 
raised  merely  because  the  customer  has  not  yet  been  “sold” 
on  the  proposition,  they  may  be  ignored  as  of  no  importance, 
and  the  argument  adhered  to  with  the  hope  that  as  the  customer 
listens  to  the  advantages  of  the  proposition  he  will  shelve  the 
objections  formerly  raised.  The  policy  in  such  a  case  should 
be  to  stimulate  his  lukewarm  desire  with  a  little  of  the  sales¬ 
man’s  own  enthusiasm  until  a  willingness  is  expressed  to  accept 
the  offer.  This  is  often  a  much  sounder  method  than  to  try 
to  break  down  the  comparatively  trivial  opposition  that  is 
represented  by  an  excuse. 

Objections  for  the  purpose  of  securing  better  prices  or 
terms,  as  explained  in  the  following  chapter,  should  be  firmly 
handled  if  the  salesman’s  experience  is  that  his  prices  in  the 
majority  of  cases  arouse  no  criticism.  No  matter  how  impor¬ 
tant  the  buyer  may  be,  he  should  not  be  allowed  to  beat  down 
the  price  of  an  offer  as  a  condition  of  his  patronage. 

Meeting  Objection  as  to  Quality — The  most  common 
honest  objections  are  those  relating  to  quality  or  prices.  The 


PRINCIPLES  OF  SALESMANSHIP 


172 

goods  offered  are  said  to  be  inferior  in  quality  or  higher  in 
price  than  those  of  competitors. 

In  combating  the  assertion  that  the  goods  are  inferior  to 
others  in  quality,  the  salesman  should  frankly  admit  the  good 
points  of  competing  goods  and  then  contrast  them  with  points 
in  favor  of  his  own.  As  emphasized  in  Chapter  XII,  such 
comparisons  should  be  made  only  when  the  subject  is  broached 
by  the  customer.  If  the  salesman  cannot  refute  or  explain 
away  some  obvious  defect  or  deficiency  in  his  own  goods;  or 
if  he  must  admit  that  those  of  a  competitor  are  undeniably 
superior — well,  under  these  circumstances,  he  is  representing 
the  wrong  house  or  pushing  the  wrong  kind  of  merchandise 
and  the  remedy  is  obvious. 

Objections  or  disparaging  comments  upon  quality  are 
sometimes  presented  without  any  reference  to  competing  lines. 
These  remarks  must  be  squarely  met.  Any  obvious  deficiency 
in  the  goods  should  be  admitted,  as  when  shopworn  articles 
or  ‘'seconds”  are  offered  which  are  likely  to  call  forth  objections 
as  to  quality.  When  a  customer  knows  that  the  salesman  is 
carefully  refraining  from  exaggerating  the  quality  of  the 
goods,  these  are  considered  less  critically  and  with  their  cost 
price  in  mind. 

Every  customer  naturally  wants  to  combine  the  maximum 
of  quality  with  the  minimum  price.  Goods  of  an  inferior 
grade  may  still  be  an  attractive  offer  at  the  right  price.  The 
“best”  quality  and  the  “lowest”  price,  however,  are  obviously 
opposing  terms,  and  an  offer  which  professes  to  combine  the 
two  only  irritates  the  intelligent  buyer.  A  customer  is  more 
readily  convinced  of  the  unreasonableness  of  any  objections  as 
to  quality,  if  no  extravagant  claims  are  made  as  to  the  grade 
of  the  merchandise  offered. 

Meeting  Objections  as  to  Price. — Objections  raised  as  to 
price  are  the  most  frequent  of  all  honest  reasons  for  refusing 


OBJECTIONS  AND  HOW  TO  ANSWER  THEM 


173 


to  buy.  Many  factors  need  to  be  known  and  considered  in 
order  to  answer  an  objection  of  this  kind  effectively.  The 
salesman  who  finds  that  this  reason  for  refusing  his  offer  is 
frequently  raised  will,  of  course,  be  furnished  by  his  house 
with  the  most  effective  replies  that  the  circumstances  of  the 
case  permit. 

Meeting  Price  Objections  in  Retail  Selling. — Objection 
is  often  made  to  the  price,  not  from  the  viewpoint  of  value, 
but  because  it  is  more  than  the  customer  can  afford  to  pay. 
This  objection  is  frequently  heard  in  a  retail  store.  The 
goods  are  too  expensive  and  the  customer  can  afford  only 
something  of  a  cheaper  grade.  It  rests  with  the  salesperson 
to  convince  the  shopper  that  the  expensive  article,  if  it  is  a 
thing  to  be  worn  or  used,  will  prove  more  economical  than 
the  cheaper  grade  in  the  end;  or  if  it  is  an  article  with  a  style 
appeal,  that  the  additional  satisfaction  afforded  by  its  appear¬ 
ance  will  more  than  compensate  for  the  higher  price.  When 
the  customer  cannot  be  convinced  by  such  arguments  as  these, 
something  at  a  lower  price  must  be  offered. 

Having  considered  objections  as  to  quality  and  price  in 
general,  let  us  now  consider  more  specific  objections  in  detail. 

“We  Are  Stocked  Up  to  the  Limit.” — This  is  a  refrain 
that  from  time  to  time  is  heard  in  every  wholesale  warehouse 
and  in  every  retail  store.  Occasionally  it  is  offered  as  an 
excuse  to  get  rid  of  the  salesman.  Frequently  it  is  the  truth. 
If  that  is  the  case,  the  reply  may  be  as  follows: 

“I  didn’t  expect  to  call  and  find  you  out  of  stock,  Mr. 
Brown.  With  an  article  like  this  in  every-day  demand,  you 
must  keep  a  good  supply  on  hand.  Sooner  or  later,  I  hope 
much  sooner  than  you  think — as  I  like  to  hear  of  quick  turn¬ 
overs — you  will  be  in  the  market  again.  So  I’ve  called  to 
explain  my  proposition  and  show  you  it’s  to  your  interest  to 


174 


PRINCIPLES  OF  SALESMANSHIP 


consider  stocking  my  line  just  as  soon  as  you  can.  .  . 

In  this  way  the  selling  talk  is  again  introduced  and  the 
mind  of  the  customer  is  switched  back  to  the  original  train  of 
thought  which  may  lead  to  a  sale  in  spite  of  his  complete  line 
of  stock. 

“We  Are  Well  Satisfied  with  Our  Present  Connections/* 

— This  disconcerting  reply  is  frequently  a  stumbling  block  to 
the  inexperienced  salesman.  The  objection,  however,  is  not  a 
difficult  one  to  meet.  The  obvious  answer  is  that  the  salesman 
is  not  calling  to  ask  for  a  break  to  be  made  with  present  con¬ 
nections;  his  mission  is  to  convince  the  buyer  that  it  will  be 
advantageous  to  add  a  new  connection.  So  he  replies : 

“I  am  glad  of  that,  Mr.  Brown.  The  firm  you  are  dealing 
with  is  a  very  good  house,  but  you  misunderstand  me  if  you 
think  I  have  come  to  ask  you  to  break  your  present  connection. 
No.  All  that  I  ask  is  that  you  make  a  new  one — one  that  in 
every  way  will  be  just  as  satisfactory  to  you  as  your  present 
connection.” 

Here  the  salesman  may  direct  the  attention  to  those  samples 
of  goods  which  compete  least  of  all  with  those  of  the  rival 
house.  Or  if  the  purchase  of  the  new  lines  involves  the  throw¬ 
ing  out  of  a  competing  line,  then  the  suggestion  may  be  made 
that  the  two  lines  be  sold  together  so  that  a  comparison  as  to 
profit  and  demand  can  be  made. 

If  the  salesman  has  the  good  fortune  to  represent  a  house 
which  is  the  leader  in  its  line  or  which  has  an  unrivaled  repu¬ 
tation  for  some  of  the  goods  it  manufactures,  then  the  desir¬ 
ability  of  profiting  from  the  good-will  and  reputation  enjoyed 
by  the  house  will  naturally  be  suggested  to  the  dealer.  To 
handle  a  well-known  line  with  a  national  reputation  is  an  asset 
in  any  retail  business,  and  no  dealer  can  afford  to  ignore  the 
best  products  of  an  advertised  line  because  he  has  already  made 
another  connection. 


OBJECTIONS  AND  HOW  TO  ANSWER  THEM  175 

“No  Room  for  a  New  Line.” — The  department  store  buyer 
or  the  big  retailer  can  afford  to  carry  a  wide  range  of  brands 
and  yet  always  find  room  for  a  really  salable  line;  the  dealer 
with  only  a  moderate  amount  of  capital  to  invest  in  stock  must 
pick  and  choose  with  care  among  the  numerous  brands  offered 
to  him.  Thus  the  small  retail  merchant  who  is  visited  daily  by 
competing  salesmen  offering  almost  duplicate  goods  frequently 
raises  the  objection  that  he  has  no  room  for  a  new  line. 

One  way  of  meeting  this  objection  is  to  remind  the  dealer 
that  a  great  danger  to  sound  storekeeping  is  a  collection  of 
unsalable  stock  which  fills  valuable  space,  ties  up  capital,  and 
eats  into  profits.  Of  course,  to  state  this  fact  bluntly  would  be 
to  reflect  upon  the  buying  and  storekeeping  ability  of  the 
dealer,  and  then  all  hope  of  introducing  a  new  line  would 
vanish.  It  can,  however,  be  done  tactfully — somewhat  like 
this : 

“Mr.  Hopkins,  every  merchant,  no  matter  how  careful  he 
may  be  and  how  clever  a  buyer,  has  some  lines  in  his  store 
which  sell  very  slowly  and  which  do  not  earn  a  fair  return  on 
the  investment.  They  take  up  space  which  could  be  much  more 
profitably  used  for  more  popular  goods  with  a  quicker  turnover. 

“Now  you’re  a  progressive  merchant.  You  don’t  handle 
the  same  lines  year  in  and  year  out.  You  close  out  one  or  two 
lines  every  now  and  then  and  replace  them  with  others. 

“Mr.  Hopkins,  I  suggest  to  you  that  it  will  pay  you  to  close 
out  some  of  those  lines  which  move  slowly  and  put  this  in 
their  place.  You’ve  acknowledged  the  profit  is  attractive  and 
they’re  likely  to  prove  good  sellers.  So  .  .  .”  — and  after 
a  little  more  selling  talk  an  attempt  is  again  made  to  introduce 
the  new  line. 

The  objection  of  the  storekeeper  that  he  is  all  stocked  up  or 
hasn’t  room  for  a  new  line  may  be  an  excuse.  It  can  then  be 
effectively  met  by  ignoring  it  rather  than  by  replying,  “Well, 
you  could  probably  use  a  little  more — ”  in  an  inquiring  tone. 


176 


PRINCIPLES  OF  SALESMANSHIP 


Such  a  reply  is  obviously  weak  since  the  salesman  cannot  pos¬ 
sibly  form  an  accurate  opinion  about  the  dealer’s  needs.  When 
there  is  reason  to  believe  that  this  objection  is  real,  it  can  be 
met  by  the  assertion  that  the  salesman  wants  to  explain  the 
merits  of  his  offer  for  the  prospect’s  future  advantage.  If  the 
dealer  reveals  no  impatience  but  apparently  seems  interested  in 
the  sales  talk,  another  attempt  to  introduce  the  new  line  can  be 
made  as  if  no  objection  had  been  raised.  If  the  dealer  still 
remains  obdurate  and  positively  asserts  that  he  has  no  room 
for  a  new  line,  the  only  course  left  is  to  try  to  obtain  a  small 
order  “just  for  a  trial.” 

Meeting  the  Pessimistic  Mood — Such  objections  as 
“business  is  too  quiet,”  or  “times  are  bad,”  are  frequently 
raised  by  cautious  and  pessimistic  buyers,  who  as  soon  as  a 
period  of  business  depression  sets  in,  “run  to  cover.”  To  con¬ 
tradict  such  a  customer  flatly  by  telling  the  speaker  his  pes¬ 
simism  is  not  well  founded  is  tactless,  as  a  man  of  this  type 
usually  resents  direct  attacks  upon  his  pessimistic  mood.  More¬ 
over,  such  an  assertion  lays  the  salesman  open  to  the  obvious 
charge  of  self-interest. 

When  confronted  with  a  pessimistic  buyer  the  salesman 
should  agree  that  trade  may  be  poor  and  then  turn  the  admis¬ 
sion  to  his  favor  in  this  way.  “When  business  is  quiet,  Mr. 
Brown,  it  is  essential  that  something  be  done  to  better  it.  This 
proposition  offers  you  an  exclusive  advantage  over  your  com¬ 
petitors  and  is  one  of  the  best  things  you  can  do  to  improve 
your  business.  For  these  reasons  .  .  .” 

A  self-registering  scale  salesman  meets  the  objection  that 
“Times  are  bad  and  I  really  can’t  afford  it,”  in  this  way: 
“When  times  are  hard,  Mr.  Brown,  it’s  up  to  all  of  us  to  prac¬ 
tice  the  most  rigid  economy.  One  of  the  best  ways  of  effecting 
economies  in  business  is  to  stop  the  little  leaks  which  are  not 
easily  detected,  but  which  amount  to  a  lot  in  the  course  of  a 


OBJECTIONS  AND  HOW  TO  ANSWER  THEM 


177 


year.  This  scale  will  stop  many  of  these  leaks.  It  is  the  best 
kind  of  economy  to  invest  in  for  use  in  your  store.” 

Objection  on  the  Score  of  Taste. — Matters  of  taste  should 
never  be  questioned.  Most  of  the  objections  offered  by  retail 
customers  are  of  this  nature.  The  woman  shopper  says  that 
she  does  not  like  this  color  or  that  style  and  prefers  something 
else  which  the  store  may  not  be  able  to  supply.  It  is  useless  in 
these  circumstances  to  attempt  to  prove  that  the  article  which 
does  not  meet  with  approval  is  really  equal  to  that  which  is 
preferred.  The  only  course  is  to  offer  the  customer  the  best 
alternative  choice. 

Combating  a  Positive  Statement  That  Is  Erroneous _ 

When  an  erroneous  statement  is  based  on  a  wrong  premise  the 
error  should  be  pointed  out.  This  may  be  an  incorrect  state¬ 
ment  as  when  a  customer  says,  “I  don’t  think  this  will  wear 
well.”  This  objection  can  be  answered  by  describing  the  nature 
of  the  material  out  of  which  the  garment  is  made  and  the 
reasons  why  it  will  wear. 

Retail  customers  are  often  unreasonable  in  the  objections 
they  raise  as  to  price  and  not  infrequently  are  mistaken  in  the 
assertion,  “Your  price  is  too  high.”  If  so  the  assertion  should 
be  tactfully  contradicted — as  in  the  following  example. 

A  lady  presented  a  prescription  at  a  drug  store  and  asked 
how  much  it  would  cost  to  fill  it. 

“Seventy-five  cents,”  was  the  reply. 

“Why,  I  had  it  filled  up  the  street  for  50  cents,”  she 
exclaimed. 

The  salesman  answered :  “In  having  this  prescription  filled 
by  us,  Madam,  you  may  be  absolutely  sure  that  it  will  contain 
exactly  what  the  doctor  orders.  We  check  over  every  prescrip¬ 
tion  twice.  Two  different  men  handle  it  so  that  there  is  no 
possibility  of  making  a  mistake.  If  a  drug  is  not  fresh  and  up 


178 


PRINCIPLES  OF  SALESMANSHIP 


to  strength  we  reject  it,  even  if  this  entails  a  heavy  loss.  This 
means  that  they  are  of  the  strength  that  the  doctor  expects  them 
to  be.  A  cheap  prescription  which  is  not  what  the  doctor  in¬ 
tends,  you  will  admit,  is  often  money  thrown  away.  In  view 
of  this  service  our  price  is  only  a  fair  one  and  I  believe  that  is 
the  reason  why  the  doctor  asked  you  to  come  to  us.” 

It  will  be  noticed  that  in  such  a  statement  as  this  the  fact 
as  to  the  price  being  high  is  neither  admitted  nor  even  referred 
to.  Instead  the  salesman  offsets  “low  price”  with  quality  and 
alludes  to  his  price  as  “fair.”  To  meet  an  objection  obliquely 
in  this  way  is  often  the  most  effective  method.  The  new  train 
of  thought  aroused  by  the  new  sales  argument  will  often  lead 
the  customer  to  forget  his  earlier  ground  of  opposition. 

The  Objection  of  the  Disgruntled  Customer _ Sometimes 

for  one  reason  or  another  a  customer  is  offended  at  treatment 
received  from  the  house  on  some  former  occasion  and  vents  his 
spleen  on  the  salesman.  Under  these  circumstances  the  only 
course  may  be  to  ask  the  customer  to  state  the  nature  of  his 
complaint.  If  it  is  reasonable  the  salesman  should  undertake 
to  see  that  the  firm  makes  proper  amends;  if  unreasonable  the 
customer  must  be  tactfully  led  to  look  at  the  matter  from  the 
other  fellow’s  point  of  view.  If  he  will  once  admit  that  his 
grievance  is  really  not  based  on  logical  grounds  it  will  vanish. 
Not  infrequently  the  customer  who  is  reasonable  at  heart  will 
concede  when  tactfully  handled  that  his  attitude  has  been  need¬ 
lessly  resentful,  though  it  does  not  follow  that  this  admission 
will  lead  to  an  order. 

A  salesman  representing  a  packing  house  accepted  the  order 
of  the  retailer  in  a  small  town,  but  as  he  was  severing  his  con¬ 
nection  with  the  firm  employing  him  he  carelessly  neglected  the 
order  in  many  details.  The  firm  made  amends  for  the  neglect, 
but  these  failed  to  satisfy  the  dealer.  When  a  new  salesman 


OBJECTIONS  AND  HOW  TO  ANSWER  THEM  179 

called  on  this  customer  he  was  met  with  abuse  and  the  assertion, 
“I  don’t  believe  in  your  firm.” 

After  patiently  listening  to  the  dealer’s  grievances  the  sales¬ 
man  explained  that  as  he  had  nothing  to  do  with  the  order  and 
as  the  firm  now  considered  the  matter  closed  he  could  do  noth¬ 
ing  to  obtain  redress.  On  his  next  round  a  month  later  he 
again  called  on  the  dealer  and  chatted  for  a  while  in  a  friendly 
way.  The  same  thing  happened  the  next  month  and  so  on  for 
more  than  a  year.  Frequently  the  salesman  gave  the  dealer 
some  valuable  business  information  picked  up  on  his  rounds. 
Finally  after  a  dozen  calls,  during  none  of  which  was  the  ques¬ 
tion  of  an  order  once  raised,  the  dealer  said  to  the  salesman, 
“Why  do  you  trouble  to  call  on  me?  You  never  solicit.” 

“No,”  was  the  answer,  “you  told  me  the  first  time  you  saw 
me  that  you  didn’t  believe  in  my  concern  and  I  certainly  won’t 
ask  you  to  buy  goods  of  a  concern  you  don’t  believe  in.” 

“Yes,  I  used  to  feel  pretty  sore  against  your  firm,”  replied 
the  dealer,  “but  I  can’t  help  thinking  that  if  the  men  like  you 
stay  with  it  as  you  do,  it  must  be  a  good  house  to  work  for  and 
a  good  house  to  trade  with.  I’ve  got  a  small  order  for  you 
today  if  you  want  to  take  it.” 

The  salesman  had  been  patiently  waiting  for  this  oppor¬ 
tunity.  When  he  left  the  store  with  his  order  he  had  the 
satisfaction  of  knowing  that  his  persistence  had  resulted  in 
transforming  what  is  usually  described  as  a  “knocker”  into 
that  most  valuable  of  all  assets  among  customers — a  “booster.” 


CHAPTER  XV 


EXCUSES  AND  HOW  TO  MEET  THEM 

The  Nature  of  Excuses. — In  every  sale  the  customer  is 
pulled  two  ways.  He  appreciates  the  advantage  of  the  offer 
and  would  like  to  profit  from  it,  but  he  dislikes  making  the 
expenditure  because  a  lingering  doubt  remains  as  to  whether 
he  will  not  regret  it  later.  If  he  has  no  serious  objections  to 
raise  he  temporizes  with  an  excuse. 

When  the  salesman  has  failed  to  guide  the  customer  suffi¬ 
ciently  far  along  the  course  that  he  wishes  the  prospect  to 
travel,  he  finds  himself  brought  to  a  halt  when  he  seeks  to 
close  the  sale,  with  one  or  more  of  several  stock  excuses.  These 
are  usually  made  with  the  object  of  temporizing  while  the 
customer  makes  up  his  mind  and  need  not  be  taken  too  seri¬ 
ously.  In  some  cases  they  may  be  turned  in  to  reasons  for 
making  the  purchase ;  in  others  they  may  be  tactfully  put  aside ; 
or  they  may  be  ignored  altogether. 

“I  Can’t  Afford  It.” — The  most  common  of  all  excuses  is 
the  one,  “I  can’t  afford  it,”  or  “I  haven’t  got  the  money.”  This 
for  obvious  reasons  is  never  made  by  a  concern  of  any  stand¬ 
ing.  If  a  thing  is  useful  to  a  business  or  if  there  is  any  profit 
in  it,  the  purchase  can  be  afforded.  The  course  to  follow  when 
the  retail  shopper  raises  this  objection  has  been  considered  in 
the  preceding  chapter.  Frequently  this  excuse  for  not  buying 
is  advanced  by  the  small  retailer  when  faced  with  what  seems 
an  expenditure  disproportionate  to  his  income,  and  in  this  case 
it  really  means,  “I  don’t  think  your  proposition  offers  good 
enough  returns  for  its  cost.” 

180 


EXCUSES  AND  HOW  TO  MEET  THEM  181 

It  is  obviously  useless  for  the  salesman  to  argue  this  point. 
A  good  course  is  to  reply,  “It  is  natural  for  you  to  think  you 
can’t  afford  it,  Mr.  Lane,”  or  perhaps,  better  still,  to  assume 
that  the  customer  is  merely  joking,  and  then  proceed  with  the 
selling  appeal  in  an  endeavor  to  make  the  weight  of  desire  over¬ 
come  the  objection. 

Examples  of  Meeting  the  Excuse,  “I  Can’t  Afford  It.” — 

As  an  example,  a  salesman  was  trying  to  sell  a  check  protector 
to  a  business  man  who  did  not  possess  such  an  article.  After 
some  discussion  the  prospect  said,  “I  can’t  afford  one  at  pre¬ 
sent.”  This  was  obviously  insincere. 

The  salesman  replied,  “Mr.  Brown,  do  you  feel  that  you 
can  afford  your  fire  insurance?” 

“Yes,”  admitted  the  customer. 

“And  yet  do  you  realize  that  your  danger  of  loss  from  falsi¬ 
fied  checks  is  actually  greater  in  business  than  your  danger  of 
loss  from  fire  ?  This  is  proved  by  statistics.  Now  for  example, 
...”  and  the  salesman  continues  his  argument. 

An  automobile  salesman  was  finding  it  difficult  to  convince 
a  prospect  that  now  was  the  best  time  to  buy  a  small  motor 
delivery  truck.  The  customer  had  assured  the  salesman  that 
he  intended  to  invest  in  one  as  soon  as  he  could  afford  it,  but 
in  the  present  state  of  trade  he  would  have  to  postpone  the 
purchase. 

“Mr.  Jones,”  replied  the  salesman,  “the  question  is  not 
whether  you  can  afford  to  buy  one  of  our  delivery  trucks,  but 
whether  in  these  bad  times  you  can  afford  to  do  without  it. 
You  have  gone  over  these  figures  with  me  and  you  have  seen 
that  you  make  a  saving  of  at  least  $50  a  month  compared  with 
the  present  cost  of  your  three  horses  and  two  wagons.  You 
have  admitted  that  one  of  your  wagons  is  so  out  of  repair  that 
you  will  probably  soon  have  to  replace  it  and  that  two  of  your 
horses  are  over  18  years  old.  Now  these  horses  are  not  going 


1 82  PRINCIPLES  OF  SALESMANSHIP 

to  last  much  longer  and  they  will  need  to  be  replaced.  At  the 
present  price  of  horse  flesh  and  fodder  you  will  really  be  throw¬ 
ing  good  money  after  bad  if  you  continue  to  invest  capital  in 
something  that’s  going  to  eat  its  head  off.” 

“Now  you’ve  had  considerable  experience  with  horses  and 
you  know  that  while  a  sound  animal  fetches  a  fair  price,  an 
animal  that  is  defective  in  any  way  goes  for  next  to  nothing. 
Why  not  cash  in  on  the  full  value  of  your  present  equipment 
while  it  is  still  sound  and  make  the  investment  in  a  motor  truck 
now?” 

The  excuse  of  not  being  able  to  afford  the  expenditure  was 
thus  turned  into  an  argument  in  favor  of  it.  When  a  saving 
in  expenditure  results  from  the  use  of  anything  or  where  a 
profit  results  from  resale,  the  insincerity  of  this  excuse  can 
always  be  tactfully  but  firmly  revealed  in  the  way  shown. 

Offering  Easy  Terms  of  Payment — The  sincerity  of  the 
excuse  that  a  customer  cannot  afford  the  expenditure  can  also 
be  tested  when  easy  terms  of  payment  are  offered.  Most  firms 
selling  a  high-priced  specialty  to  people  of  moderate  means 
usually  make  concessions  of  this  nature,  because  experience 
proves  that  the  objection  raised  as  to  the  inability  to  pay  means 
inability  to  pay  a  large  sum  at  one  time.  Sales  that  would 
otherwise  be  lost  can  frequently  be  closed  when  it  is  agreed 
that  the  terms  of  payment  shall  be  so  much  on  the  delivery  of 
of  the  goods  and  the  balance  in  easy  instalments.  Many  ex¬ 
pensive  articles  for  the  home  are  now  sold  in  this  way.  The 
fact  that  a  firm  is  willing  to  accept  by  instalments,  after  the 
customer  has  had  an  opportunity  to  inspect  the  goods,  helps  to 
establish  that  confidence  which  is  necessary  for  the  consum¬ 
mation  of  a  sale  in  which  a  relatively  large  amount  is  involved. 

“I’m  Too  Busy  to  Decide  Now.” — This  may  be  a  message 
delivered  by  the  office  boy  or  girl  at  the  information  desk  when 


l 


EXCUSES  AND  HOW  TO  MEET  THEM  183 

the  salesman  is  seeking  an  interview;  in  this  case  it  can  be 
handled  in  the  way  described  in  Chapter  VI. 

This  excuse  is  sometimes  advanced  toward  the  end  of  an 
interview  when  the  buyer  pulls  out  his  watch  and  notes  how 
quickly  time  has  been  passing.  As  a  rule  no  man  lacks  the  time 
to  do  business  which  he  knows  will  prove  profitable.  He  is  in 
business  for  that  purpose.  Therefore  when  this  excuse  is  of¬ 
fered,  the  salesman  may  take  it  that  the  buyer  has  not  yet  been 
convinced  of  the  merits  of  his  proposition.  The  excuse  can 
often  be  brushed  aside  with  an  assertion  such  as  the  following : 

“Mr.  Brown,  I  know  I  am  taking  up  a  great  deal  of  your 
time,  but  we  are  both  in  business  to  make  the  best  use  of  our 
time.  You  have  agreed  with  me  that  my  offer  must  prove 
advantageous  to  you  in  several  ways,  and  that  it  is  worth  your 
careful  consideration.  No  man  is  too  busy  to  give  any  busi¬ 
ness  offer  that  is  to  his  advantage  at  least  ten  minutes  of  his 
attention.  It  will  take  less  than  ten  minutes  for  me  to  enume¬ 
rate  exactly  those  features  of  my  proposition  .  .  or  “It  will 
take  less  than  two  minutes  to  draft  an  order  .  .  .,”  and  the 
salesman  either  works  back  into  his  sales  talk  or  makes  a  fresh 
attempt  to  close. 

“Too  Busy  to  Talk  with  You  Now.” — This  excuse  resem¬ 
bles  the  preceding  excuse,  but  differs  from  it  in  that  it  is 
usually  made  at  the  opening  of  an  interview  especially  when  a 
salesman  meets  the  buyer  by  chance.  The  prospect  has  no 
interest  in  the  offer  and  is  too  indifferent  to  investigate  its 
possibilities.  He  therefore  makes  this  excuse,  which  really 
means,  “Don’t  worry  me  today,  I’m  too  tired  or  too  lazy  to 
bother  with  your  offer.”  To  such  an  excuse  the  salesman  may 
briefly  reply  as  follows  : 

“I  realize  that  you  are  a  very  busy  man,  Mr.  Brown,  so  I 
will  take  up  only  a  few  moments  of  your  time.  It  will  need 
ten  minutes  to  explain  just  what  my  proposition  means  to  you. 


184  PRINCIPLES  OF  SALESMANSHIP 

If  you’ll  give  me  your  close  attention  for  these  few  minutes  I 
shall  be  able  to  prove  that  your  time  has  been  well  spent.” 

Whether  or  not  a  salesman  wins  an  interview  under  these 
circumstances  largely  depends  upon  the  confidence  with  which 
he  presumes  that  it  will  be  granted.  As  already  explained 
(Chapter  VII),  when  he  meets  a  prospect  on  equal  ground  he 
will  in  all  probability  be  listened  to.  If  he  seeks  an  interview 
apologetically,  as  if  his  offer  were  of  little  importance,  it  will 
receive  scant  consideration. 

“I’ll  Have  to  Think  It  Over.” — An  excuse  frequently 
raised  by  the  procrastinating  type  of  customer  when  the  time 
comes  to  close  the  sale  is  that  he  wishes  to  have  an  opportunity 
to  think  the  matter  over.  When  this  phrase  is  heard  the  sales¬ 
man  may  be  sure  that  his  talk  has  not  been  sufficiently  con¬ 
vincing.  The  prospect  who  wants  to  think  the  matter  over 
very  rarely  buys.  When  left  to  his  own  train  of  thought  he 
will  conjure  up  all  sorts  of  objections  because  the  offer  has 
so  far  been  presented  in  an  inconclusive  or  indefinite  way. 
When  the  salesman  next  calls  the  opening  greeting  will  prob¬ 
ably  be,  “No,  Mr.  Blank,  I  thank  you  for  your  call,  but  I’ve 
come  to  a  firm  decision  not  to  buy.” 

Consequently  if  the  salesman  is  to  sell  to  the  prospect  who 
says,  “I’ll  have  to  think  it  over,”  the  time  to  do  so  is  then  and 
there.  To  such  a  remark  the  salesman  should  promptly  reply: 

“Now,  Mr.  Jones,  do  you  really  think  there  is  any  need  to 
think  it  over?  Aren’t  you  convinced  now?  If  you  are  not 
then  I  am  at  fault  somewhere.  Just  tell  me  the  point  you  are 
still  in  doubt  about.” 

The  prospect  will  then  often  acknowledge  that  for  certain 
reasons  he  doesn’t  think  the  offer  is  just  what  he  requires.  The 
argument  must  then  be  concentrated  on  removing  the  particular 
objection  from  his  mind — directly  if  possible  or  else  by  a 
powerful  appeal  to  another  buying  motive  sufficiently  strong  to 
make  him  forget  the  reasons  for  his  wish  to  procrastinate. 


EXCUSES  AND  HOW  TO  MEET  THEM  185 

“I’ll  have  to  think  it  over”  is  frequently  heard  in  the  middle 
of  an  interview  when  the  customer  who  only  half  understands 
the  offer  suddenly  decides  against  it  and  breaks  in  on  the  sales¬ 
man  with  the  above  phrase.  In  such  a  case  the  reply  may  be : 
“By  all  means,  Mr.  Jones,  I  want  you  to  think  it  over,  but 
in  justice  to  me  and  my  proposition,  before  you  think  it  over 
you  ought  to  allow  me  to  make  clear  in  how  many  ways  you 
are  going  to  benefit  from  it  in  your  business.  When  you  do 
clearly  understand  its  benefits  you  may  possibly  think  that  if 
needs  very  little  thinking  over.”  And  so  he  continues  his  sales 
talk. 


“I  Must  Consult  My  Partner.” — This  ancient  opposal  is 
usually  partly  genuine  and  not  without  apparent  merit.  Yet  the 
reply  shows  its  weakness.  “Mr.  Jeffrey,  your  partner  is  not  in 
touch  with  the  case;  you  are.  I  feel  sure  that  if  you  were  to 
take  the  matter  up  with  him  he  would  listen  for  a  moment  and 
then  say,  ‘You  think  it’s  what  we  want?’  And  to  your  assent 
he  would  reply,  ‘Well,  you  know  all  about  it,  I’ve  never  seen 
it  and  don’t  pretend  to  understand  it.  If  you  think  it  is  a  good 
idea,  go  ahead.’  So  as  a  matter  of  fact  why  shouldn’t  you 
do  now  what  he  will  propose  you  should  do  in  any  case?” 

“Suppose  You  Call  Again.” — An  objection  in  many 
respects  analogous  to  the  offer  to  “think  it  over”  is  the  remark 
at  the  close  of  the  interview,  “Yes,  I’m  interested.  But  sup¬ 
pose  you  call  again.  I’m  rather  busy  now.” 

Such  a  postponement  will  do  no  harm  to  the  wholesale 
salesman  who  may  be  covering  the  same  ground  within  a  week 
or  a  month.  He  can  use  his  present  call  as  a  means  of  estab¬ 
lishing  friendly  relations  by  genially  replying : 

“All  right,  Mr.  Jones,  I  certainly  will  call  again  when  next 
in  town  because  I  know  if  you  are  not  in  immediate  need  of 
anything  in  my  line  at  present,  you  certainly  will  be  in  a  week 
or  two.” 


PRINCIPLES  OF  SALESMANSHIP 


1 86 


An  answer  such  as  this  may  be  good  business  policy  in  the 
case  of  a  sale  of  staples,  but  would  not  do  at  all  when  selling  a 
specialty.  When  confronted  with  this  objection  the  specialty 
salesman  should  candidly  say  to  his  customer : 

“Mr.  Jones,  I’m  a  busy  man  just  as  you  are  and  I  have  to 
work  hard  for  a  living  and  show  results.  I  have  to  call  on  a 
certain  number  of  customers  in  a  day  and  having  once  worked 
a  town  I  don’t  come  back  to  it  for  months  or  years. 

“Now  you  as  a  business  man  know  there  is  no  better  time 
to  do  business  than  to  do  it  now,  and  here  I  am  right  on  the 
spot.  You  have  asked  me  to  call  again  only  because  you  are 
not  quite  clear  about  some  point  in  my  offer  and  possibly  want 
to  study  the  literature  I  have  given  you.  Just  let  me  enumerate 
some  of  the  points  previously  mentioned,”  and  the  salesman 
swings  back  into  his  selling  talk  by  recapitulating  those  argu¬ 
ments  which  he  thinks  will  prove  most  effective. 

“Stop  In  on  Your  Next  Trip  and  Perhaps  We’ll  Do 

Business.’’ — This  like  the  two  preceding  excuses  is  another 
of  those  “put  off”  phrases  which  are  used  by  the  vacillating 
customer  who  hasn’t  the  moral  courage  to  come  out  with  a 
downright  “No.”  This  excuse  is  rarely  heard  when  the  sales¬ 
man  has  succeeded  in  arousing  real  interest.  In  consequence 
the  obvious  answer  is  to  meet  this  objection  with  a  strong  sell¬ 
ing  talk  as  to  the  merits  of  the  offer. 

“Mr.  Brown,”  the  salesman  may  say,  “if  you  want  these 
goods  at  all  you  want  them  for  the  profit  they  will  earn  you. 
By  putting  off  your  order  until  my  next  trip,  which  will  be  at 
least  three  months  from  now,  you  are  losing  the  profit  you 
might  make  on  my  goods  during  these  three  months.  Let  us 
figure  what  this  amounts  to.  ...” 

Excuses  advanced  as  reasons  for  procrastinating  imply  that 
the  salesman  has  failed  to  arouse  desire.  In  each  case  the 
answer  must  be  so  worded  that  he  is  able  to  pass  behind  the 


EXCUSES  AND  HOW  TO  MEET  THEM 


187 

objection  and  proceed  anew  with  those  arguments  he  thinks 
best  suited  to  the  temperament  of  the  buyer. 

Talk  from  the  Customer’s  Viewpoint. — In  all  the  sales¬ 
man’s  replies  to  these  numerous  objections  and  excuses  he 
should  answer  from  the  point  of  view  of  the  customer.  For 
example,  when  the  excuse  is  made,  “I  will  think  it  over,”  the 
reply  should  not  be,  “Well,  I  would  like  to  have  you  decide 
now,  Mr.  Brown,  because  I  am  here  and  am  anxious  to  get  the 
matter  settled.”  It  is  better  to  word  the  answer  in  this  way, 
“You  are  doing  yourself  an  injustice,  Mr.  Brown,  unless  you 
come  to  a  prompt  decision.  You  have  me  here  completely  at 
your  disposal.  My  time  is  yours.  Why  not  get  the  matter 
settled  now?” 

Finding  a  Point  of  Agreement. — As  mentioned  in  the 
preceding  chapter,  an  invariable  rule  of  salesmanship  is  never 
openly  to  contradict  a  prospect.  No  one  likes  to  have  his 
opinions  disputed.  The  salesman  can  generally  find  some  point 
in  the  objection  to  which  he  can  assent  and  then,  starting  with 
the  point  of  agreement,  he  can  swing  around  to  the  answer  he 
wishes  to  make. 

For  example,  if  the  objection  or  excuse  is  made,  “It  is  too 
much  trouble  to  add  a  new  line,”  it  would  be  tactless  to  reply, 
“Well,  that  is  no  reason  why  you  can’t  trade  with  us.”  Instead 
the  salesman  answers : 

“Yes,  it  is  some  bother,  I  know,  to  put  in  a  new  line.  And 
yet,  Mr.  Jones,  if  you  had  carried  out  that  idea  all  the  time  you 
have  been  in  business  you  would  not  have  such  a  fine  stock  or 
be  such  a  successful  merchant  as  you  are  now.  In  these  days 
small  stocks  and  many  lines  gives  the  maximum  returns  on  your 
investment.  Just  consider  how  much  profit  in  proportion  to 
your  other  lines  this  proposition  will  pay  you,”  and  the  sales¬ 
man  proceeds  to  emphasize  the  point  of  profit.  In  this  way  he 


PRINCIPLES  OF  SALESMANSHIP 


1 88 

switches  the  thought  of  the  customer  from  trouble,  which  is 
disagreeable,  to  the  desire  for  profit,  which  is  much  more 
pleasant.  In  proportion  as  the  case  for  profit  is  proven  up  to 
the  hilt,  so  will  the  objection  raised  on  the  score  of  trouble 
fade  away. 

A  prospect  when  offered  a.  duplicating  machine  might 
object,  “I  haven’t  any  use  for  it.”  A  flat  contradiction  would 
be,  “Yes,  you  have,  only  you  don’t  know  it.”  Instead  the  sales¬ 
man  tactfully  replies,  “I  can  quite  appreciate  why  you  say  that, 
Mr.  Robinson.  It  is  natural  for  you  to  think  that  you  have  no 
use  for  this  machine,  as  many  other  business  men  who  are  now 
using  it  once  thought.  I  have  not  yet  had  the  opportunity  of 
familiarizing  you  with  the  many  services  that  this  machine 
accomplishes.  Let  me  first  explain  its  uses  to  you  and  then  you 
will  be  able  to  form  a  correct  judgment  as  to  whether  or  not 
you  will  have  any  use  for  it.” 

Others  objections  that  must  not  be  answered  directly  are 
those  which  claim  that  a  competitor’s  goods  are  superior  in 
some  way.  This  has  been  discussed  in  the  chapter  on  “Desire” 
(XI).  At  this  point  it  is  only  necessary  to  recall  that  the  sales¬ 
man  need  not  feel  discouraged  when  this  objection  is  raised. 
It  must  be  remembered  that  no  article  can  be  superior  to  com¬ 
petitive  goods  in  every  way  and  in  every  detail.  Some  points 
of  superiority  can  be  found  for  both.  The  salesman’s  aim 
should  be  to  present  a  larger  number  of  facts  in  favor  of  his 
own  offer. 

Sometimes  the  excuse  may  not  relate  to  the  goods  so  much 
as  to  the  service  which  accompanies  them.  A  customer  may 
argue,  “No,  I  don’t  intend  to  give  you  an  order,  because  I  find 
that  we  can  get  quicker  delivery  from  Smith  and  Company  and 
so  I  don’t  have  to  buy  such  large  quantities  at  a  time.”  To 
answer  such  objections  as  these  a  knowledge  of  local  conditions 
is  needed  and  for  this  reason  they  need  not  be  considered  at 
length  here. 


EXCUSES  AND  HOW  TO  MEET  THEM 


189 


Sufficient  has  thus  far  been  written  to  explain  that  a  sales¬ 
man’s  success  will  depend  in  large  degree  upon  careful  pre¬ 
paration  and  practice  in  meeting  objections  and  excuses.  The 
reply  must  be  carefully  worded,  the  reasoning  must  be  sound, 
and  the  argument  must  be  delivered  with  tactful  emphasis  and 
without  a  trace  of  hesitation  or  apology.  To  hesitate  or 
apologize  where  courage  and  persistence  are  needed  is  fatal. 
Only  adequate  preparation  will  enable  the  salesman  to  meet 
objections  and  excuses  with  the  positive  assurance  needed  to 
sweep  them  aside. 


CHAPTER  XVI 


THE  DIPLOMACY  OF  THE  CLOSE 

The  Difficulty  of  Landing  the  Order. — The  “close,”  as 
the  acceptance  of  the  offer  is  termed,  is  frequently  referred  to 
as  the  hardest  part  of  the  sale  to  negotiate.  When  the  time 
comes  for  the  buyer  to  say  “Yes”  or  “No”  the  nervous  sales¬ 
man,  who  reveals  his  anxiety  to  secure  an  order,  may  lose 
many  a  sale  which  seems  within  his  grasp.  But  the  man  who 
studies  the  art  of  closing  as  he  studies  every  other  phase  of 
salesmanship,  and  cooly  faces  this  critical  part  of  the  inter¬ 
view,  will  find  no  serious  difficulty  in  bringing  it  to  its  logical 
conclusion. 

Buyers  often  grant  an  interview,  listen  to  the  sales  talk, 
criticize  the  arguments,  and  raise  objections,  real  or  imaginary 
— all  without  any  serious  intention  of  giving  an  order.  Then 
becoming  interested,  as  they  realize  the  advantages  of  the 
proposition,  they  feel  half-inclined  to  try  it  out,  though  they 
may  have  had  no  intention  of  doing  so  at  the  opening  of  the 
interview. 

If  under  these  circumstances  the  attitude  of  the  salesman 
is  at  all  hesitant  when  the  time  comes  to  close  and  ask  for  an 
order,  the  chances  are  that  the  half -decided  customer  will  draw 
back.  In  order  to  help  him  to  come  to  the  point  the  salesman 
must  always  assume  that  his  argument  is  wholly  convincing 
and  that  there  is  no  question  but  that  the  offer  will  be  accepted. 
The  mere  fact  that  the  prospect  listens  and  assents  to  the  claims 
and  statements  made  presupposes  the  final  decision  to  buy. 
Therefore  when  the  salesman  considers  that  the  merits  of  the 
offer  have  been  explained  in  sufficient  detail  he  should  seek  to 


190 


THE  DIPLOMACY  OF  THE  CLOSE 


191 

bring  the  interview  to  a  close  by  introducing  the  subject  of  an 
order. 

The  “Psychological  Moment.” — Much  has  been  written 
about  what  is  termed  the  “psychological  moment”  to  close.  A 
particular  moment  is  supposed  to  arrive  somewhere  near  the 
end  of  the  argument,  when  the  mind  of  the  customer  will  be 
enthusiastically  in  favor  of  the  offer.  For  a  brief  moment  he 
will  clearly  realize  its  benefits !  Pseudo-scientific  salesmanship 
presumes  the  ability  to  sense  this  particular  moment,  pounce 
upon  it,  and  utilize  it  for  the  purpose  of  securing  the  buyer’s 
signature  to  an  irrevocable  contract  in  a  moment  of  irrational 
and  unguarded  enthusiasm. 

This  psychological  moment  exists  largely  in  imagination. 
About  half  the  customers  approached  definitely  make  up  their 
minds  while  the  other  half  wobble  mentally.  If  the  skilful 
presentation  of  the  offer  convinces  the  buyer  that  it  fits  in 
with  his  particular  needs  and  he  has  that  mental  strength  which 
enables  him  to  come  to  a  prompt  decision,  he  himself  may 
bring  the  interview  to  a  close  by  saying  he  will  order  so  much 
of  this,  that,  or  the  other.  If  he  belongs  to  the  type  which 
naturally  procrastinates  and  finds  it  difficult  to  decide,  he  may 
need  to  be  reassured  upon  many  points  before  the  sale  is  closed. 

The  art  of  closing  is  the  ability  to  find  out  when  and  for 
what  reason  the  customer  is  still  reluctant  to  buy.  He  is  then 
reassured  upon  these  points  which  cause  his  indecision,  until 
he  acquires  that  complete  confidence  in  the  all-round  advantages 
of  the  proposition  which  leads  to  a  close. 

To  be  on  the  alert,  like  a  cat  watching  for  a  mouse,  for  a 
particular  buying  wave  to  pass  through  the  prospect’s  mind 
savors  more  of  securing  an  order  by  means  of  trickery  than 
by  logical  and  skilful  discussion.  There  is  only  one  psycho¬ 
logical  moment  for  closing — when  the  merits  of  the  offer  have 
been  made  so  attractive  to  the  cautious  or  doubting  prospect 


192 


PRINCIPLES  OF  SALESMANSHIP 


that  the  suggestion  to  order,  when  made  with  sufficient  firmness 
and  diplomacy,  suffices  to  tip  the  scale  in  favor  of  the  purchase. 

Closing  Merely  the  Final  Decision — Thus  the  close  is  in 
no  sense  a  water-tight  compartment  separated  from  the  rest  of 
the  sales  transaction.  What  the  salesman  does  throughout  the 
interview  is  to  secure  a  series  of  decisions  leading  to  the  final 
one.  The  close  is  merely  a  more  critical  decision  which  requires 
more  tact  and  firmness. 

For  example,  in  the  bread  sale  detailed  in  the  chapter  on 
the  “Preparation  of  the  Sales  Talk”  (Chapter  V),  assent  is 
first  secured  to  the  assertion  that  bread  in  general  is  a  profit¬ 
able  line  to  handle.  From  this  the  dealer  is  led  to  acknowledge 
the  particular  advantages  of  handling  an  advertised  bread 
which  sells  more  readily  than  an  unknown  brand.  Just  how 
much  profit  is  to  be  made  by  handling  White’s  Cream  Bread  is 
then  figured  out,  based  on  the  earnings  of  other  dealers.  The 
argument  takes  the  form  of  facts  and  figures  which  cannot  be 
disputed.  Having  made  the  main  appeal  to  profit,  the  talk  as  a 
whole  can  now  be  summarized  by  such  a  remark  as,  “This 
makes  a  very  interesting  proposition,  doesn’t  it,  Mr.  Jones? 
Suppose  you  make  your  order  two  dozen  loaves  a  day  to  begin 
with.  That  would  be  about  right,  wouldn’t  it?” 

This  observation  is  made  merely  as  a  “feeler.”  If  the 
customer  draws  back  and  says  that  he  is  not  prepared  to  accept 
the  offer  the  salesman  continues  his  argument  regardless  of  the 
mental  opposition.  This  time  the  prestige  of  handling  a  well- 
known  brand  is  referred  to  and  the  advertising  co-operation 
offered  by  the  firm  as  a  means  of  building  up  trade  is  explained 
in  detail.  If  the  dealer  still  remains  non-committal  the  sales¬ 
man  tries  again : 

“Suppose  I  put  in  two  dozen  loaves  a  day  to  start  with,  Mr. 
Brown,  and  then  as  soon  as  possible  you  can  make  out  that  list 
of  people  to  whom  we  may  send  the  sample  loaves.” 


THE  DIPLOMACY  OF  THE  CLOSE 


192 


By  assuming  that  the  last  argument  must  have  convinced 
the  grocer  of  the  advantages  of  selling  his  bread  the  salesman 
makes  another  attempt  to  close.  But  he  carefully  refrains  from 
putting  his  offer  in  the  form  of  a  direct  query  which  will  permit 
the  dealer  to  turn  it  down  with  an  uncompromising  “No.” 

As  another  illustration,  suppose  that  the  customer  is  a 
retailer  who  is  buying  shirts.  He  first  acknowledges  that  the 
shirts  offered  are  attractive  in  design;  then  he  is  assured  that 
the  colors  will  last;  the  next  decision  to  which  he  comes  is  that 
they  will  suit  the  particular  trade  of  his  customers;  the  price 
he  decides  is  reasonable  and  the  terms  are  as  good  as  he  can 
obtain  elsewhere.  Thus  when  the  time  comes  to  buy,  his  final 
decision  is  bolstered  up  by  a  series  of  smaller  ones.  The  close 
is  not  a  detached  mental  process  wholly  alien  to  the  rest  of  the 
selling  talk  but  a  natural  development  based  on  the  other  de¬ 
cisions.  When  the  salesman  seeks  to  close  he  does  so  naturally 
and  without  the  slightest  hesitancy  in  this  way : 

“Will  ten  dozen  of  these  in  assorted  sizes  and  patterns  be 
enough  for  you,  Mr.  Brown?” 

He  assumes  that  the  order  will  follow  as  a  natural  sequence 
to  his  sales  talk. 

The  Importance  of  Assuming  the  Order _ To  assume 

that  an  order  will  surely  be  given  is  an  important  point  to  re¬ 
member  in  every  attempt  to  close.  A  customer  is  much  more 
readily  led  to  the  buying  point  if  he  is  impressed  with  the  fact 
that  order-taking  is  part  of  the  every-day  routine  of  a  sales¬ 
man’s  interview.  When  an  anxiety  to  close  is  revealed  and  the 
prospect  thinks  he  is  being  urged  to  sign  or  to  order  against  his 
better  judgment,  he  at  once  becomes  cautious  and  draws  back. 
But  when  the  salesman  assumes  that  the  order  is  merely  a 
routine  matter  which  is  the  inevitable  outcome  of  the  inter¬ 
view,  this  attitude  helps  the  hesitating  buyer  to  make  up  his 
mind.  Thus  when  a  stationer  asks  a  certain  fountain  pen 


194 


PRINCIPLES  OF  SALESMANSHIP 


salesman  at  the  close  of  his  sales  talk  a  question  of  any  kind 
such  as,  “What  are  your  terms?”  the  salesman  replies,  “Sixty 
days  net.  Two  off  ten.”  Then,  taking  out  his  order  blank  he 
continues,  “No,  suppose  we  start  with  this  style,  say  two 
dozen  to  begin  with?” 

When  selling  at  retail  it  is  frequently  necessary  to  help  the 
customer  to  come  to  a  decision  in  this  way.  For  instance,  a 
man  is  buying  a  suit  of  clothes.  He  manifests  a  desire  for  a 
particular  suit  by  studying  it  for  a  long  time,  but  cannot  make 
up  his  mind.  He  takes  it  off  and  tries  on  another.  This  he 
quickly  rejects.  The  salesman  notices  this  and  asks  him  to  try 
on  the  first  suit  again.  When  this  is  done  he  calls  over  the 
tailor  and  says,  “Mr.  Smith,  will  you  kindly  see  what  altera¬ 
tions  are  necessary  on  this?” — and  the  tailor  begins  to  take  the 
measurements.  The  making  out  of  the  sales  slip  usually 
follows. 

Avoid  the  Negative  Question  Close. — To  frame  the  sug¬ 
gestion  of  an  order  in  the  form  of  a  query  is  never  advisable. 
For  instance,  questions  such  as,  “How  about  taking  your  order 
for  some  of  each  kind,  Mr.  Brown?”  or  “May  I  book  your 
order  for  a  shipment?”  court  a  negative  answer  and  an  open¬ 
ing  is  given  for  a  refusal.  In  the  examples  in  the  preceding 
sections  there  is  no  such  opening,  the  presumption  being  that 
the  order  is  as  good  as  given.  All  that  remains  is  to  determine 
the  number  of  loaves,  the  assortment  in  sizes  and  patterns  of 
shirts,  and  so  on. 

A  salesman  in  a  meat  store  when  asked  for  a  pound  of 
steak  cuts  off  a  pound  and  one-half.  “Will  that  be  too  much?” 
he  asks  the  customer.  She  replies,  “Yes,  that  will,”  and  he 
then  has  to  cut  off  the  extra  weight. 

Were  he  to  say  “That  will  be  about  right,  I  think?”  and 
look  at  his  customer  inquiringly  the  probabilities  are  'that  she 
would  reply,  “Yes.” 


THE  DIPLOMACY  OF  THE  CLOSE 


195 


To  a  customer  who  has  just  made  a  purchase  the  query, 
“Will  that  be  all  today?”  invites  the  answer  “Yes.”  An  in- 
telligcnt  salesperson  invariably  asks,  “What  is  the  next  thing, 
please?”  implying  that  another  purchase  is  a  natural  sequence 
of  events. 

Positive  Assertions  Help  the  Close. — The  close  of  a  sale 
will  be  more  readily  brought  about  if  the  claims  and  statements 
that  lead  up  to  it  have  been  made  positive  or  have  elicited 
positive  replies  from  the  customer.  A  salesman  expresses  him¬ 
self  positively  when  he  shows  that  his  goods  are  better  than 
those  of  his  competitors — not  that  his  competitor’s  are  inferior 
to  his.  When  he  concedes  certain  merits  to  a  competitor’s 
lines  he  enhances  the  value  of  his  own.  The  retail  salesman 
when  showing  two  articles  to  be  used  for  the  same  purpose 
states  that  one  is  a  good  article  for  the  price,  but  that  the  other 
is  superior  or  better  for  certain  reasons.  The  clothing  sales¬ 
man  instead  of  saying,  “This  suit  will  not  wear  as  well  as  that,” 
says  rather,  “This  suit  has  good  wearing  qualities  but  the  other 
will  outlast  it  by  a  long  time.”  The  salesman  who  says,  “I 
don’t  suppose  you  are  interested  in  buying  anything  today?”  is 
suggesting  a  negative  idea.  It  is  obviously  much  better  to  ask, 
“What  are  you  in  the  market  for  today?” 

In  the  same  way  when  the  time  comes  to  close  a  sale  the 
customer  will  be  more  readily  brought  to  the  point  of  ordering 
by  such  a  remark  as,  “You  will  be  wise  to  buy  these  goods  now. 
Six  dozen  of  each  kind  ought  not  to  be  too  much  for  you,” 
rather  than,  “You  will  be  foolish  to  miss  this  opportunity. 
How  many  may  I  send  you?” 

A  little  thought  will  enable  the  salesman  to  change  the 
wording  of  all  closing  queries  so  that  they  are  made  in  the  form 
of  positive  assertions.  These  assume  that  the  order  will  be 
given  as  a  matter  of  course  and  this  assumption  has  a  powerful 
effect  upon  the  mind  of  the  procrastinating  buyer. 


196 


PRINCIPLES  OF  SALESMANSHIP 


Picture  the  Customer  Using  the  Goods. — A  customer  who 
evidently  likes  the  goods  and  yet  still  hesitates,  can  often  be 
brought  to  the  buying  point  when  an  appeal  is  made  to  his 
imagination,  by  picturing  him  using  the  goods  or  profiting  from 
the  offer.  This  appeal  to  the  imagination  is  especially  neces¬ 
sary  when  the  expenditure  is  large  in  proportion  to  the  size  of 
the  purchaser’s  income. 

For  example,  when  the  buyer  of  an  automobile  is  accom¬ 
panied  by  his  wife,  the  salesman  should  paint  a  “word-picture” 
of  the  ease  and  comfort  of  riding  in  the  car,  the  enjoyment  of 
its  swift  motion,  the  health-giving  qualities  of  pure  and  ex¬ 
hilarating  country  air,  and  the  education  to  be  derived  from 
visiting  places  of  interest  for  miles  round. 

The  retail  merchant’s  imagination  can  be  appealed  to  by 
depicting  the  goods  in  his  store,  the  fine  display  they  will  make 
on  his  shelves,  and  their  final  sale  to  customers  for  their  satis¬ 
faction  and  his  profit. 

A  strong  appeal  can  often  be  made  to  the  pride  of  the 
shopper,  who  can  be  imaginatively  depicted  wearing  the  stylish 
pair  of  shoes  or  the  becoming  suit  or  coat  which  he  or  she  is 
contemplating  buying.  To  bring  the  hesitating  shopper  to  the 
buying  point,  further  indirect  allusions  may  be  made  to  the 
flattering  comments  that  the  article  will  probably  arouse  when 
friends  inspect  it. 

All  these  are  mental  pictures  which  can  readily  be  conjured 
up  when  the  expenditure  is  so  important  that  it  tends  to  create 
indecision.  The  more  naturally  and  enthusiastically  the  pic¬ 
tures  are  drawn,  the  better  the  chance  of  bringing  a  sale  of  any 
importance  to  a  close. 

Example  of  Appealing  to  the  Imagination. — An  employee 

working  in  the  office  of  a  wholesale  house  was  interested  in  a 
course  in  salesmanship  issued  by  a  well-known  correspondence 
school.  He  had  asked  for  information,  but  when  the  salesman 


THE  DIPLOMACY  OF  THE  CLOSE 


197 


called  he  refused  to  give  a  definite  decision.  In  an  effort  to 
close  the  salesman  appealed  to  the  young  man’s  imagination 
in  this  way : 

“Mr.  Marsh,  you  acknowledge  that  one  of  your  ambitions 
is  to  be  promoted  by  your  firm  to  an  outside  position.  Now, 
think  of  yourself  starting  out  with  your  sample  case.  You 
have  studied  this  course  and  have  thoroughly  mastered  it.  You 
understand  how  to  meet  customers’  objections,  how  to  argue, 
how  to  close  the  sale.  You  will  go  out  with  a  firm  step  and 
your  head  high  because  you  will  have  full  confidence  in  your 
power  to  meet  people  and  sell  to  them. 

“Well,  Mr.  Marsh,  you  can  start  tomorrow.  You  can  begin 
preparing  yourself  for  promotion  and  so  help  yourself  to  de¬ 
serve  it.  When  you  are  ready  be  sure  the  position  will  be 
ready  for  you.  I  have  filled  out  your  enrolment  application. 
If  you  will  sign  here  the  first  lesson  will  be  addressed  to  your 
home  tomorrow  and  you  can  start  your  studies  right  away.” 

Taking  an  application  blank  from  his  coat  pocket  the  sales¬ 
man  wound  up,  “Let  me  see,  what  is  your  address?” 

Here  is  a  definite  picture  which  appeals  to  ambition.  The 
young  man  sees  himself  on  the  high  road  to  promotion,  with  a 
sample  case  in  his  hand,  his  step  firm,  his  heart  full  of  con¬ 
fidence.  With  a  pleasant  prospect  like  this  before  him  other 
considerations,  such  as  the  relatively  high  cost  and  the  time 
and  effort  involved  in  study,  fade  into  insignificance.  The 
mental  picture  appeals  to  the  motives  of  desiring  to  excel, 
desire  for  knowledge,  love  of  praise,  and  so  forth;  it  creates  so 
powerful  a  desire  to  profit  from  the  offer  that  the  sale  is 
immediately  closed. 

When  a  First  Attempt  to  Close  Fails. — When  the  first  or 
even  the  second  attempt  is  made  to  secure  a  favorable  decision 
and  the  customer  hesitates  without  definitely  refusing  to  buy, 
there  is  still  every  prospect  of  making  the  sale.  In  all  prob- 


1 98 


PRINCIPLES  OF  SALESMANSHIP 


ability  the  hesitation  is  due  to  the  fact  that  complete  mental 
assent  has  not  been  given  to  all  the  claims  made.  To  secure 
this  assent  the  salesman  can  make  a  summary  of  the  arguments 
already  used  and  present  them  in  a  series  of  questions  worded 
to  draw  an  affirmative  reply.  Or,  alternatively,  he  can  ac¬ 
centuate  a  special  talking  point  and  develop  it  if  he  thinks  that 
an  appeal  to  a  particular  motive  may  prove  more  efficacious. 

Example  of  a  Change  of  Tactics. — An  automobile  sales¬ 
man  after  appealing  to  the  imagination  by  depicting  all  the 
delights  of  owning  a  motor  car  vainly  tried  to  close.  The  hesi¬ 
tating  customer  refused  to  give  a  definite  order  and  insisted 
that  he  required  time  to  think  the  matter  over.  The  salesman 
thereupon  changed  his  tactics  : 

“Mr.  Smith,”  he  said,  “I  really  believe  you  wish  to  think 
over  this  proposition,  because  in  your  own  mind  you  are  not 
sure  whether  or  not  you  are  justified  in  incurring  this  expen¬ 
diture.  You  have  had  no  experience  so  far  in  running  a  car 
and  possibly  you  think  that  its  up-keep  and  the  cost  of  tires 
will  make  a  bigger  hole  in  your  income  than  you  expect.  Now, 
tell  me  what  you  estimate  it  would  cost  you  to  run  this  car? 
In  all  probability  you’ve  already  figured  it  out.” 

The  salesman  shrewdly  guessed  that  he  had  been  appealing 
to  the  wrong  motive.  He  judged  that  the  type  of  buyer  in 
front  of  him  had  decided  to  spend  so  much  for  the  car  and 
allow  so  much  for  its  up-keep  and  running  cost.  The  customer 
acknowledged  that  he  expected  the  up-keep  of  the  car  would 
run  to  at  least  $10  a  week. 

“How  often  do  you  expect  to  use  the  car?  Is  it  for  busi¬ 
ness  purposes  or  pleasure?” 

“Oh,  it  is  purely  for  pleasure,”  replied  the  customer. 

“In  that  case  then  you  will  use  it  principally  on  Saturday 
afternoon,  Sunday,  and  on  vacation  days?” 

“Yes,”  again  acknowledged  the  customer. 


THE  DIPLOMACY  OF  THE  CLOSE 


199 


“Well,  a  fair  distance  to  cover  on  a  Saturday  afternoon 
would  be  about  50  miles  and  100  will  be  the  limit  on  Sunday. 
So  let  us  see  what  it  will  cost  us  to  run  this  car  150  miles  a 
week,  which  would  be  a  good  average  for  the  whole  year.” 

Thereupon  the  salesman  put  facts  and  figures  before  his 
customer  to  prove  that  even  if  he  traveled  the  maximum  dis¬ 
tance  weekly  and  allowed  a  liberal  margin  for  repairs  and  tire 
renewal  the  car  that  he  was  considering  would  not  cost  in 
up-keep  more  than  $8  a  week.  A  sale  promptly  followed. 

The  Final  Closing  Argument — When  the  salesman  lays 
particular  stress  on  a  point  or  a  motive  that  obviously  appeals 
to  a  particular  temperament  he  causes  this  point  to  assume  such 
prominence  in  the  buyer’s  mind  that  it  overwhelms  all  the 
objections  that  may  hinder  the  close.  When,  however,  the 
closing  appeal  cannot  be  made  to  a  particular  motive,  it  will  be 
necessary  to  enumerate  all  the  strong  points  which  the  customer 
has  previously  accepted  as  true.  In  doing  this  there  is  no 
necessity  to  repeat  the  former  arguments ;  all  that  is  needed  is 
a  summing  up.  And  of  course,  those  appeals  that  exerted  but 
little  or  no  influence  are  best  omitted. 

Each  point  should  be  made  to  stand  out  clearly  and  lumi¬ 
nously.  In  this  way  all  favorable  impressions  so  far  received 
are  centered  so  that  each  is  seen  in  its  relation  to  the  others  and 
the  whole  proposition  gains  the  strength  of  unity  and  complete¬ 
ness.  The  mind  must  be  systematically  prepared  for  the  close 
by  leading  from  one  statement  to  another,  the  interest  growing 
as  the  argument  progresses.  The  enumeration  of  the  strong 
points  of  the  offer  will  then  present  such  a  vivid  conception  of 
the  advantages  of  the  deal  that  in  the  majority  of  cases  little 
difficulty  will  be  experienced  in  securing  the  buyer’s  unhesi¬ 
tating  consent. 


CHAPTER  XVII 


THINGS  TO  REMEMBER  WHEN  CLOSING 

The  Importance  of  Managing  the  Interview. — Many  a 

sale  interview  fails  to  reach  a  successful  close  because  the  con¬ 
versation  is  allowed  to  drift  away  from  business  into  talk  con¬ 
cerning  affairs  in  general  or  some  social  matters  or  events. 
These  little  side  excursions,  if  not  too  prolonged,  are  profitable, 
for  as  a  rule  they  create  a  feeling  of  friendliness  and  mutual 
understanding.  And  once  the  stage  of  interest  is  past  and 
that  of  desire  has  been  entered,  any  deviation  from  the  system¬ 
atic  progress  of  the  argument  is  to  be  most  carefully  avoided. 
In  some  cases,  however,  especially  in  the  case  of  the  garrulous 
type  of  buyer  who  loves  the  sound  of  his  own  voice,  a  dis¬ 
cussion  of  trivial  and  irrelevant  matters  often  leads  so  far  from 
business  that  it  is  almost  impossible  for  the  salesman  to  draw 
the  mind  of  the  buyer  back  to  the  main  discussion.  When  a 
customer  is  allowed  to  take  the  bit  between  his  teeth  in  this  way 
the  salesman  cannot  say  what  he  would  like  to  say,  namely, 
that  he  has  no  time  to  discuss  subjects  that  are  irrelevant  to 
his  proposition.  He  must  follow  the  prospect’s  lead,  waiting 
for  an  opportunity  to  steer  the  conversation  tactfully  to  the 
main  track  which  leads  to  decision. 

Keeping  the  Prospect  on  the  Track. — There  are  several 
ways  of  recalling  the  wanderer  to  realities.  After  the  salesman 
has  revealed  the  interest  that  courtesy  demands  in  what  his 
prospect  has  to  say,  one  method  is  to  refrain  from  making  any 
further  comments  even  to  the  extent  of  saying  “Yes”  or  “No.” 


200 


THINGS  TO  REMEMBER  WHEN  CLOSING 


201 


If  he  will  look  the  talker  straight  in  the  face  and  merely  nod  in 
assent  or  shake  his  head  when  questions  are  put  to  him,  the 
monologue  will  soon  die  down.  As  soon  as  a  pause  occurs, 
the  salesman  skilfully  leads  the  customer  back  into  the  main 
stream  in  this  fashion  : 

“What  you  have  told  me,  Mr.  Jones,  is  very  interesting  and 
some  other  time  I  would  like  to  know  more  about  it;  but  I 
must  not  take  up  your  time  now.  You  were  asking  something 
about  our  terms  that  I  ought  to  explain.  .  . 

When  the  garrulity  of  a  customer  is  apparently  unlimited 
the  first  opportunity  to  break  in  must  be  seized  with  such  a 
remark  as,  “Yes,  I  thoroughly  agree  with  you,  Mr.  Jones. 
Don’t  you  think  me  rude  if  I  break  in,  but  before  I  forget  it  I 
want  you  to  understand  thoroughly  that  part  of  my  offer  .  . 
Conversation  which  is  beside  the  point  is  thus  interrupted  and 
the  customer  is  tactfully  led  back  to  a  main  issue. 

The  most  simple  of  all  methods  is  that  of  a  salesman  who 
makes  a  practice  of  reading  the  local  papers  in  every  town  he 
visits.  He  scans  the  columns  for  news  items  which  he  thinks 
will  be  of  general  interest.  Then  if  it  becomes  necessary  to 
interrupt  a  customer  who  has  wandered  from  the  point,  the 
salesman  breaks  in  upon  the  conversation  with  a  by-the-way 
request  for  information  as  to  how  or  why  certain  things  are 
being  done  in  the  town. 

Diplomacy  of  this  kind  is  often  essential  if  the  object  of 
the  call  is  to  be  kept  in  view.  If  the  talkative  buyer  is  given 
the  impression  that  the  salesman’s  only  thought  is  to  discuss 
business  and  sell  goods,  a  feeling,  if  not  of  resentment,  at  least 
of  slightly  wounded  pride,  is  created.  The  feeling  is  adverse  to 
closing  the  sale. 

How  Much  to  Sell  When  Closing. — A  problem  with 
which  the  man  who  is  selling  at  wholesale  is  sometimes  faced 
is  the  quantity  of  goods  to  be  sold  in  a  given  case.  As  has  been 


202 


PRINCIPLES  OF  SALESMANSHIP 


previously  pointed  out,  an  error  of  judgment  frequently  made 
by  the  inexperienced  is  to  sell  more  than  the  buyer  can  pro¬ 
fitably  use.  This  mistake  rarely  happens  in  the  specialty  field, 
because  a  specialty  is  not  bought  in  quantity  for  resale  but 
purely  for  use.  But  when  selling  for  resale,  especially  if  the 
line  is  new  to  the  dealer,  when  the  time  comes  to  close  there 
is  often  danger  of  overloading  inexperienced  customers  who 
by  nature  are  optimistic. 

In  this  field  the  profits  depend  largely  on  the  number  of 
times  the  stock  is  turned  in  the  course  of  a  year.  Dead  stock 
represents  a  large  loss  and  many  retail  failures  can  be  more  or 
less  directly  traced  to  this  cause.  A  man  often  goes  into  retail 
business  with  little  knowledge  of  the  field;  he  fails  to  study 
demand;  he  has  no  proper  system  of  accounting  and  is  ignorant 
of  the  cost  of  doing  business.  When  he  buys  a  certain  quan¬ 
tity  on  the  advice  of  an  inexperienced  or  unscrupulous  sales¬ 
man  and  then  finds  that  the  goods  move  much  more  slowly 
than  he  was  led  to  expect,  and  that  in  consequence  they  de¬ 
teriorate,  he  naturally  feels  resentful. 

When  to  Sell  the  Whole  Line — On  the  other  hand,  poor 
judgment  or  lack  of  courage  is  revealed  when  the  diffident 
salesman  fails  to  sell  the  quantity  which  he  believes  the  buyer 
can  use  before  the  time  of  the  next  call  comes  around.  It  must 
be  remembered  that  in  wholesale  selling  it  frequently  costs 
more  to  win  over  a  new  customer  than  the  profit  on  the  first 
sale  amounts  to.  Especially  is  this  the  case  when  a  particular 
article  is  featured  as  an  entering  wedge.  Having  made  an 
initial  sale,  elementary  intelligence  will  at  once  suggest  that 
this  is  a  golden  opportunity  to  make  additional  sales.  More  or 
less  friendly  relations  have  been  established  with  the  buyer; 
the  first  purchase  signifies  that  his  approval  has  been  won; 
in  consequence  he  is  in  a  receptive  mood.  Therefore,  it  is 
legitimate  for  the  salesman  who  handles  an  extensive  line  to 


THINGS  TO  REMEMBER  WHEN  CLOSING 


203 

use  every  argument  of  the  buyer’s  purchasing  from  the  whole 
line. 

Closing  with  a  Cautious,  Doubting  Buyer. — When  clos¬ 
ing  the  sale  with  an  apprehensive,  hesitating  customer  dif¬ 
ferent  tactics  are  needed.  First  estimating  the  quantity  that 
the  dealer  ought  to  dispose  of  in  a  given  period,  the  salesman 
suggests  an  amount  rather  above  it.  The  natural  impulse  of 
the  cautious  dealer  is  to  begin  conservatively  and  take  no 
chances.  If  the  decision  as  to  quantity  is  left  to  him  he  is  just 
as  likely  to  find  himself  out  of  stock  with  no  opportunity  to 
refill,  as  the  optimistic  type  is  likely  to  be  oversold.  There¬ 
fore,  when  in  contact  with  an  extremely  cautious  type  of 
customer  the  salesman  should  mention  an  amount  consider¬ 
ably  more  than  the  dealer  would  ordinarily  buy. 

The  manager  for  a  wholesale  drug  company  noticed  that 
one  of  his  salesmen  secured  larger  orders  than  other  men  for 
a  special  line  which  was  offered  in  $5,  $10,  and  $25  assort¬ 
ments.  When  asked  how  he  managed  it  the  salesman  replied : 

“This  is  a  new  line.  The  dealer  does  not  realize  its  selling 
possibilities.  So  I  talk  to  him  always  about  the  value  of  a 
$50  assortment.  This  as  a  rule  is  rather  more  than  he  thought 
of  investing  in  this  particular  line.  When  the  time  comes  to 
close  and  I  finally  suggest  a  $25  assortment,  the  amount  seems 
so  reasonable  that  it  is  bought  without  hesitation.  The  average 
dealer  is  not  oversold  when  he  buys  this  quantity.  Our  other 
men  after  mentioning  $5  and  $10  assortments  try  unsuccess¬ 
fully  to  sell  the  druggist  assortments  at  the  higher  price — and 
fail.” 

The  Signing  of  a  Contract. — In  the  sale  of  expensive 
specialties,  from  an  office  device  to  an  advertising  order,  some 
form  of  contract  must  usually  be  signed.  It  frequently  happens 
that  the  prospect  views  the  offer  favorably  and  is  carefully  con- 


204 


PRINCIPLES  OF  SALESMANSHIP 


sidering  it — until  the  contract  is  placed  before  him.  Then  he 
draws  back  simply  through  his  dislike  to  bind  himself  in  this 
irrevocable  way. 

When  an  objection  of  this  kind  is  raised  at  the  close  of  a 
sale  the  salesman  can  meet  it  in  this  way : 

“I  know,  Mr.  Blank,  that  there  are  many  business  men  who 
dislike  signing  contracts  and  I  also  know  that  your  word  is 
absolutely  as  good  as  your  bond.  But  still  you  will  admit  that 
verbal  agreements,  especially  when  making  a  sale  of  any  im¬ 
portance,  are  not  businesslike. 

“Now,  we  on  our  part  have  just  as  much  to  do  in  filling 
the  contract  as  you  have  in  accepting  it.  In  this  contract  it 
states  that  we  will  furnish  you  with  a  certain  kind  of  machine 
at  a  certain  price;  the  terms  of  delivery  and  payment  are  here 
in  black  and  white,  so  that  any  future  misunderstanding  is  im¬ 
possible.  You  note  that  this  contract  calls  for  one  of  our 
latest  improved  machines  and  also  contains  a  guarantee  to  keep 
it  in  repair.  Therefore,  it  is  as  much  for  your  own  as  for  our 
protection.  A  contract  such  as  this  cannot  be  objectional  to 
any  business  man  because  it  binds  us  just  as  much  as  it  does 
you.”  Treatment  such  as  this  is  readily  developed  for  every 
variety  of  circumstance. 

A  contract  of  any  kind  usually  involves  writing  out  certain 
details.  Therefore,  the  best  method  of  closing  is  to  lead  up 
to  the  filling  in  of  these  details  in  a  natural  way,  taking  for 
granted  that  the  formality  is  a  necessary  part  of  the  ordering. 
Under  no  circumstances  should  the  contract  be  held  in  reserve 
until  the  last  moment  and  then  sprung  upon  the  customer  as  a 
surprise. 

As  an  example,  the  cash  register  salesman  when  the  time 
comes  to  close,  extracts  an  order  blank  from  his  pocket  and 
says : 

“Now,  Mr.  Blank,  what  style  of  finish  would  you  like  on 
the  register?  Our  usual  finish  is  in  gold,  but  we  also  make 


THINGS  TO  REMEMBER  WHEN  CLOSING 


205 


one  in  nickel  and  one  in  dark  bronze.  You  see  we  fill  in  here 
on  the  order  form  the  style  of  finish  you  desire.  On  the  back 
(turning  is  over)  is  where  we  fill  in  the  style  of  name-plate. 
I  must  explain  that  your  order  includes  a  name-plate  with  this 
machine.  Have  you  a  business  card  so  that  I  can  get  your 
initials  or  the  firm  name  correct?” 

In  this  way  the  merchant  gradually  sees  that  an  order  is  to 
be  made  out  and  that  in  consequence  it  will  be  necessary  for 
him  to  sign  it.  But  the  fact  that  it  contains  details  of  the  goods 
ordered  suggests  to  him  that  this  is  only  customary  routine. 

Rebates  and  Discounts  at  the  Close — A  stumbling  block 
which  frequently  trips  up  the  salesman  when  the  time  comes  to 
close  is  that  relating  to  a  discount  or  a  rebate.  The  customer 
may  have  agreed  that  the  goods  are  what  he  needs,  that  he 
likes  them,  and  that  he  is  inclined  to  buy;  but  at  the  last 
moment  he  turns  around  and  says  to  the  salesman  something 
like  this,  “Your  prices  are  all  right  and  are  the  same  as  those 
of  Swain  and  Company.  But  I  have  always  been  given  a  5 
per  cent  discount  at  the  end  of  30  days  by  that  firm  and  of 
course  you  are  ready  to  do  the  same.” 

This  may  be  only  a  “try-out”  or  it  may  be  perfectly  true. 
The  salesman,  unless  he  knows  the  business  policy  of  the  firm 
mentioned,  has  no  means  of  ascertaining  whether  it  is  true  or 
not.  The  inexperienced  man  in  his  anxiety  to  secure  an  order 
at  any  cost  will  frequently  cut  his  own  commission,  if  he 
receives  one,  or  allow  a  rebate  if  this  is  possible  in  order  to 
close  the  sale. 

This  practice  can  never  be  recommended.  The  salesman 
presumably  represents  a  house  with  definite  terms  as  to  pay¬ 
ment  and  discounts.  He  should  state  what  these  terms  are  and 
then  affirm  emphatically  and  definitely  that  he  must  adhere  to 
the  policy  of  the  house.  In  nine  cases  out  of  ten  the  customer 
will  accept  the  usual  terms. 


206 


PRINCIPLES  OF  SALESMANSHIP 


The  inexperienced  salesman  must  remember  that  the  shrewd 
buyer  is  always  striving  to  secure  the  best  terms  possible  both 
as  to  price,  length  of  credit,  and  discount.  His  mental  attitude 
is  that  “there  is  no  harm  in  trying  it.”  But  if  he  is  pleased 
with  the  goods  and  thinks  that  they  will  either  serve  his  pur¬ 
pose  in  some  way,  or  are  the  best  among  those  offered  to  him 
— which  must  be  the  case  when  the  buyer  signifies  that  he  has 
decided  to  buy — then  the  final  terms  as  to  discount  and  length 
of  credit  have  very  little  bearing  on  the  close  of  the  sale. 

The  practice  in  many  cases,  especially  in  selling  to  the 
retailer,  is  to  grant  an  ascending  scale  of  discounts  which  vary 
with  the  amount  of  the  order.  Frequently  the  dealer  will  ask 
for  the  concession  of  a  large  discount  applied  to  a  smaller 
quantity,  and  may  even  hold  out  for  these  terms.  The  sales¬ 
man  who  represents  a  firm  of  standing,  with  a  definite  and 
fixed  credit  policy,  usually  turns  down  such  attempts  to  gain 
further  concessions  by  a  frank  explanation  that  his  terms  are 
positively  so  and  so  and  that  they  are  the  same  for  all  cus¬ 
tomers  alike.  The  salesman  who  represents  an  unknown  house 
will  find  that  attempts  are  very  often  made  to  secure  conces¬ 
sions  and  rebates  of  this  nature.  Whether  or  not  he  grants 
them  must  be  determined  by  the  policy  of  the  house  he 
represents. 

When  Obstacles  Arise  to  Prevent  a  Sale. — Sometimes 

after  an  order  is  accepted,  even  when  a  customer  has  signed  a 
contract,  he  refuses  to  carry  out  his  agreement.  This  ma) 
happen  because  of  misrepresentation,  since  the  advantages  of 
the  offer  have  been  exaggerated;  or  because  the  customer  has 
been  cajoled  into  buying  against  his  will;  or  it  may  be  due 
to  timidity  and  indecision.  Whatever  the  cause,  diplomacy  will 
be  needed  when  the  salesman  calls  to  find  out  the  nature  of  the 
trouble  and  bring  the  customer  back  to  the  buying  frame  of 
mind. 


THINGS  TO  REMEMBER  WHEN  CLOSING 


207 


If  there  has  been  no  misrepresentation  and  the  only  explana¬ 
tion  given  by  the  customer  is  that  he  has  “changed  his  mind,” 
the  presumption  is  that  he  was  only  half  sold  on  the  proposi¬ 
tion  at  the  first  interview.  The  policy  of  the  salesman  will  then 
be  to  seek  a  second  interview  and  ask  the  customer  pointblank 
just  why  he  is  doubtful  as  to  the  benefits  he  will  derive  from 
the  purchase.  In  this  interview  it  is  much  better  to  go  straight 
to  the  point.  The  salesman  is  in  an  advantageous  position, 
because  he  is  entitled  to  an  explanation  from  a  man  who  breaks 
a  contract  even  if  only  a  verbal  one.  If  the  customer  is  merely 
suffering  from  nervousness  at  the  thought  of  the  expenditure, 
the  salesman  should  have  little  difficulty  in  restimulating  his 
desire  through  contact  with  his  own  enthusiasm.  If  the  reason 
advanced  is  that  something  has  happened  meanwhile  that  makes 
it  impossible  or  inconvenient  for  the  customer  to  accept  the 
goods,  the  salesman  must  use  his  resource  and  his  special  know¬ 
ledge  in  an  effort  to  find  a  way  around  the  difficulty. 

An  Example  of  Resource  in  Closing. — The  importance  of 
resource  in  such  a  sale  crisis  as  this  is  illustrated  by  the  follow¬ 
ing  anecdote : 

An  insurance  salesman  after  several  interviews  with  an 
obdurate  client  who,  though  he  had  signified  his  intention  of 
buying  insurance  still  refused  to  come  to  the  point,  at  last 
closed  a  policy  for  $20,000.  When  the  signature  was  finally 
obtained  the  salesman  felt  sure  that  there  would  be  no  further 
hitch  as  his  client  was  in  the  best  of  health,  young,  and  had  only 
recently  been  married. 

A  few  days  later  to  his  surprise  he  heard  that  the  medical 
adviser  for  the  company  had  failed  to  turn  in  his  report  as  to 
the  result  of  the  physical  examination.  The  salesman  went  to 
the  medical  officer  to  find  out  what  was  wrong,  as  the  young 
prospect  when  last  seen  seemed  to  be  in  perfect  health.  The 
doctor  told  him  that  the  client  resolutely  refused  to  answer  a 


208 


PRINCIPLES  OF  SALESMANSHIP 


vital  question  in  the  application  form  which  every  buyer  of 
insurance  must  fill  out,  and  until  this  question  was  answered 
the  doctor  could  not  complete  his  report  to  the  company.  The 
question  referred  to  asked  for  information  as  to  the  cause 
of  death  of  the  prospect’s  father. 

When  the  salesman  called  in  order  to  ascertain  why  an 
answer  to  this  question  had  been  refused  he  was  told  in  con¬ 
fidence  that  the  father  of  his  client  had  been  hanged  as  a  spy 
during  the  Civil  War;  as  this  secret  had  apparently  died  with 
him,  under  no  circumstances  would  the  prospect  bring  it  to 
life  again. 

At  this  unexpected  difficulty  the  salesman  was  at  first  non- 
pulsed.  After  a  moment’s  quick  and  concentrated  reflection  a 
look  of  relief  spread  over  his  face. 

“Oh,  I  can  fix  that  all  right  for  you.  Give  me  the  blank.” 

The  salesman  then  wrote  in  the  space  provided  for  the 
answer  to  the  question  “cause  of  death  of  your  father” :  “Fell 
from  a  scaffold;  death  instantaneous.” 

“You  won’t  object  to  this,  will  you?”  said  the  salesman  as 
he  showed  it  to  his  client. 

“No,  that  just  about  covers  it  all  right,”  was  the  reply. 

The  blank  went  through,  the  policy  was  issued,  and  the 
salesman  collected  his  commission. 

A  little  resource  in  emergencies  is  a  distinguishing  mark  of 
the  alert  salesman. 


CHAPTER  XVIII 


FRIENDLY  RELATIONS  WITH  THE  BUYER 

Friendship  Often  an  Essential  Factor  in  Making  Sales. 

— A  leather  salesman  had  been  calling  on  a  shoe  manufacturer 
month  after  month  for  two  years,  and  during  that  time  had 
received  only  a  few  trifling  orders.  On  the  rare  occasion  when 
the  buyer  granted  an  interview,  his  manner  was  gruff,  abrupt, 
and  almost  discourteous.  The  interview  invariably  ended  with 
the  refrain,  “No,  nothing  more  today.  This  is  absolutely  all 
I  need  in  your  line.” 

One  day  the  salesman  chanced  to  meet  the  buyer  in  a  street 
car,  attentively  studying  a  seedman’s  catalogue.  “Beautiful 
weather  for  planting  a  garden,  isn’t  it?”  he  said  genially  as  he 
sat  down. 

“Yes,”  was  the  reply,  “I  left  the  office  early  to  put  in  an 
extra  hour’s  work  on  mine.” 

The  salesman,  being  an  enthusiastic  gardener  himself,  knew 
something  about  the  growing  of  plants  and  flowers.  An  inter¬ 
esting  conversation  ensued  which,  before  the  ride  terminated, 
developed  into  a  feeling  of  mutual  friendliness.  Within  a 
week  the  salesman  made  a  point  of  calling  upon  the  dealer  and 
opened  his  interview  with  the  words,  “Well,  how’s  the  garden 
today?”  An  exchange  of  agricultural  lore  followed,  and  when 
the  two  separated  the  salesman  carried  away  with  him  his 
first  substantial  order. 

This  anecdote  illustrates  the  point  that  in  many  cases  the 
only  possible  road  to  the  buyer’s  favor  is  to  cultivate  friendly 
relations.  The  salesman  may  determine  the  best  motive  to 


209 


210 


PRINCIPLES  OF  SALESMANSHIP 


appeal  to  in  a  particular  case;  he  may  study  his  customer’s 
characteristics;  he  may  arrange  his  sales  talk  accordingly;  but 
if  his  goods  are  much  like  those  of  his  competitors  and  offer 
nothing  exceptional  in  price  or  quality,  he  will  often  find  buyers 
cold  and  indifferent.  The  reception  may  be  more  cordial  to 
the  representative  of  a  prominent  house  that  stands  above  its 
competitors,  but  a  salesman  whose  house  does  not  enjoy  the 
esteem  or  admiration  of  the  buyer  must  expect  to  meet  indif¬ 
ference.  Under  these  circumstances  the  best  course  may  be 
to  forget  the  proposition  and  all  its  details  for  the  time  being 
and  to  concentrate  upon  the  cultivation  of  friendly  relations 
at  every  call. 

A  paper  salesman  called  on  a  publisher  eighteen  times 
before  he  received  an  order.  Seldom  did  he  mention  paper, 
the  majority  of  the  visits  were  short,  affording  a  few  moments 
of  pleasant  chat  on  any  of  a  dozen  topics  that  the  two  enjoyed. 
When  at  last  the  publisher  had  occasion  for  a  new  style  of 
paper,  he  called  up  his  friend,  the  salesman,  at  once. 

The  Importance  of  First  Impressions. — This  friendliness 

is,  as  a  rule,  the  natural  sequence  of  an  opening  order  and 
satisfactory  results  therefrom.  But  the  difficulty  of  the  sales¬ 
man  in  many  cases  is  to  secure  the  opening.  Once  obtained, 
he  hopes  that  his  own  personality  plus  the  merits  of  the  goods 
will  enable  him  to  develop  a  trial  order  into  a  permanent  and 
lucrative  connection. 

Much  therefore  depends  upon  the  impression  he  makes  on 
his  first  visit.  If  this  impression  is  favorable,  a  feeling  of 
good-will  is  established,  which  inclines  the  buyer  to  look  for 
reasons  why  he  should  buy.  When  such  reasons  are  sought 
for,  they  are  not  difficult  to  find.  If  the  opposite  feeling  is 
aroused,  if  for  some  reason  the  salesman’s  manner  or  method 
of  approach  do  not  please  him,  the  customer  tends  to  be  exact¬ 
ing  and  critical  and  is  frequently  unreasonable  in  the  objections 


FRIENDLY  RELATIONS  WITH  THE  BUYER 


21 1 


he  raises  against  the  goods.  This  attitude  of  mind  is  an 
effectual  barrier  against  forming  a  new  connection. 

Geniality  the  First  Essential. — It  is  of  first  importance  in 
the  cultivation  of  friendly  relations  that  the  salesman  himself 
shall  feel  genuinely  friendly  toward  others.  An  honest  wish 
to  please,  a  feeling  of  real  interest  in  other  people  and  the 
desire  to  help  them,  a  willingness  to  put  oneself  to  personal 
trouble  or  inconvenience  in  order  to  be  helpful — qualities  such 
as  these  radiate  an  atmosphere  which  other  people  instinctively 
like  and  which  makes  them  ready  to  listen  to  the  salesman  and 
co-operate  with  him.  Before  other  people  will  like  you,  you 
must  like  them.  First  in  importance  in  cultivating  friendly 
relations  is  geniality — a  desire  to  be  friendly  and  to  please. 

How  Geniality  Can  be  Revealed. — This  definition  of 
genialty  leads  to  a  discussion  of  how  it  may  be  revealed.  One 
method  which  every  salesman  can  practice  is  to  think  of  means 
of  rendering,  not  only  the  service  which  should  go  with  the 
goods,  but  additional  service  —  a  “something  extra”  the 
customer  does  not  expect. 

A  lady  entered  a  drug  store  and  asked  the  salesman  to  give 
her  something  to  cure  an  inflamed  eye.  The  salesman,  noting 
that  the  ailment  was  serious,  suggested  that  it  would  be  wiser 
and  safer  for  her  to  consult  a  doctor.  She  accepted  his  advice. 
He  then  offered  to  call  up  the  doctor’s  office  and  find  out  if 
he  was  in.  The  doctor  replied  that  he  could  see  her  if  she 
came  around  immediately.  The  salesman  suggested  a  taxicab 
and  immediately  rang  for  one  on  the  telephone.  Gratitude 
for  the  service  which  was  not  expected  was  the  natural  result — 
and  gratitude  is  one  form  of  friendliness. 

The  Importance  of  “Service-Plus.” — The  foregoing  inci¬ 
dent  illustrates  what  is  known  in  the  language  of  salesmanship 


212 


PRINCIPLES  OF  SALESMANSHIP 


as  “service-plus.”  Most  salesmen  are  reasonably  polite  and 
obliging  to  the  extent  of  taking  trouble  and  putting  themselves 
to  inconvenience  when  opportunity  offers.  A  salesman  who 
wishes  to  cultivate  the  friendliness  of  his  customers  must  seek 
opportunities  to  render  this  service-plus. 

Service-plus  comprises  not  only  an  earnest  and  intelligent 
desire  to  sell  what  can  be  profitably  used  and  thus  afford  satis¬ 
faction,  but  also  a  sincere  wish  to  attend  to  requests  or  pref¬ 
erences  in  minor  matters  which  do  not  always  seem  of  impor¬ 
tance  when  the  mind  is  wholly  concentrated  upon  making  a  sale. 
A  salesman  who  remembers  every  trifling  wish  or  instruction 
expressed  by  the  buyer,  even  though  not  included  in  the  terms 
of  the  sale,  is  adopting  one  of  the  most  effective  means  of 
cultivating  permanent,  friendly  relations.  If,  in  addition,  he 
is  able  when  asked  to  give  advice  which  can  be  relied  upon, 
his  hold  on  the  esteem  of  his  customer  is  proportionally 
strengthened. 

Examples  of  Service-Plus. — The  superintendent  of  a 
large  department  store  chanced  to  be  in  the  clothing  department 
when  a  salesman  arrived  to  interview  the  buyer.  The  salesman 
represented  one  of  the  largest  wholesale  manufacturers  of 
clothing  in  the  country.  As  the  expenditure  for  that  depart¬ 
ment  formed  a  considerable  item,  the  manager  remained  to 
help  the  buyer,  if  necessary,  with  his  judgment.  The  buyer 
continually  asked  the  salesman  for  advice  as  to  selections  and 
quantities  and  purchased  freely — rather  to  the  surprise  of  the 
manager  who  expected  him  to  distribute  his  orders  among 
other  salesmen. 

After  the  order  was  finally  made  up  and  the  salesman  had 
retired,  the  manager  questioned  the  buyer  and  said  to  him, 
“Why  did  you  buy  so  freely  and  trust  the  judgment  of  the 
salesman  more  than  your  own.” 

“Because  I  have  learned  it  pays  to  do  so,”  was  the  renly. 


FRIENDLY  RELATIONS  WITH  THE  BUYER 


213 


“Last  year  when  he  called  he  told  me  that  if  he  were  in  my 
place  he  would  load  up  on  the  ‘pinch-back’  and  one  or  two  other 
styles,  which  I  finally  did  at  his  suggestion.  You  know  that 
at  the  end  of  the  season  we  had  fewer  ‘left-overs’  in  our  depart¬ 
ment  than  in  any  previous  year.  Yet,  had  I  followed  my  own 
judgment,  we  should  have  been  short  of  our  best  sellers  by 
several  thousand  dollars  before  the  end  of  December,  and 
overloaded  in  other  lines.  I  have  taken  his  advice  as  to  styles 
on  one  or  two  other  occasions  and  I  have  always  found  it  right. 
As  he  attends  to  my  instructions  in  every  detail  and  goes  out 
of  his  way  to  please  me,  I  give  him  all  the  orders  I  can.” 

Sometimes  the  service  may  have  nothing  at  all  to  do  with 
the  goods  or  their  delivery,  and  if  so  it  can  be  rendered  with 
even  more  telling  effect. 

A  traveling  candy  salesman  reached  one  of  his  prospects 
late  on  Saturday  afternoon.  He  found  the  storekeeper  greatly 
rushed  because  of  a  special  sale  he  was  holding.  As  the  sales¬ 
man  intended  to  stay  in  the  town  over  Sunday,  without  any 
words  he  helped  himself  to  a  white  linen  jacket  which  hung 
in  an  unobtrusive  corner  of  the  store,  then  took  up  his  position 
behind  the  counter  and  began  to  wait  on  customers.  In  former 
days  he  had  served  his  apprenticeship  in  a  candy  store,  and 
so  he  proved  himself  as  deft  and  competent  a  salesman  as  any 
other  man  behind  the  counter.  Needless  to  say,  this  action 
resulted  in  cementing  the  feeling  of  firm  friendliness. 

Reveal  Interest  in  What  Others  Do. — A  telling  method 
of  cultivating  friendly  relations  is  to  look  for  an  opportunity 
to  show  interest  in  something  done  by  another  person.  One 
salesman  calling  upon  retailers  makes  it  a  practice  to  scrutinize 
closely  the  window  displays  and  interior  arrangement  of  his 
customers’  stores.  When  he  notes  any  changes  he  comments 
upon  them.  ‘‘That  is  a  fine  display  you  have  in  the  window,” 
he  may  remark.  “Who  is  responsible  for  it?  It  must  have 


214 


PRINCIPLES  OF  SALESMANSHIP 


cost  you  a  lot  of  time  and  trouble” ;  or,  “I  like  this  new  arrange¬ 
ment  of  your  fixtures.  It’s  certainly  a  big  improvement.” 
Every  retailer,  as  a  rule,  is  pleased  with  his  own  window 
dressing  and  store  arrangement.  He  is  gratified  to  find  that 
other  persons,  particularly  strangers,  take  notice  of  what  he 
is  doing. 

Look  for  a  Ground  of  Common  Interest _ Most  men  have 

a  hobby  of  some  kind.  We  are  gratified  when,  in  discussing 
things  in  which  we  are  interested,  we  find  that  our  tastes  coin¬ 
cide  with  those  of  others.  If  the  salesman  can  find  out  what 
his  customer  cares  for  and  turn  the  conversation  around  to 
that  subject,  so  much  the  better.  A  hobby  is  usually  a  topic 
of  paramount  interest  to  the  person  who  rides  it.  The  more 
intelligently  the  salesman  can  discuss  it  the  more  gratified  his 
listener  will  be. 

For  example,  golf  may  be  the  hobby  in  one  case.  The  sales¬ 
man  can  then  steer  the  conversation  around  to  bunkers  and 
greens,  where  he  and  his  customer  can  meet  on  common  ground. 
The  topic,  which  is  of  perennial  interest  to  its  devotees,  can 
easily  be  broached  by  asking  for  information  about  the  local 
links,  the  kind  of  course,  the  lowest  score  ever  made  by  the 
customer,  and  so  on. 

A  salesman  had  on  several  occasions  called  without  result 
on  a  prospective  customer  whose  hobby  was  photography. 
During  this  period  the  salesman  also  became  interested  in  the 
art.  His  first  attempts  included,  as  is  usually  the  case,  many 
poor  pictures  and  some  complete  failures.  On  his  next  visit, 
instead  of  broaching  the  business  side  of  his  call,  he  adroitly 
steered  the  conversation  around  photography.  “I  understand, 
Mr.  Sherman,”  he  said,  “that  you  are  an  expert  photog¬ 
rapher.  I  bought  a  camera  a  few  weeks  ago  but  I’ve  not  yet 
succeeded  in  getting  good  pictures.  Perhaps  you  will  be  good 


FRIENDLY  RELATIONS  WITH  THE  BUYER 


215 

enough  to  tell  me  what  is  wrong  with  my  methods.”  And 
here  he  handed  some  prints  over  for  his  customer’s  inspection. 
At  once  the  latter  became  interested  and  gladly  offered  much 
practical  advice. 

Little  more  was  said  about  business  that  day,  but  on  his 
next  trip  the  salesman  noted  a  more  cordial  tone  of  welcome 
in  the  buyer’s  voice  than  before.  Still  he  received  no  order. 
Before  leaving  he  drew  a  package  of  photographic  prints  out 
of  his  pocket  and  handing  them  over  the  counter  said,  “You 
see,  Mr.  Sherman,  I  have  followed  your  instructions  and  this 
is  the  result.  There  certainly  is  some  improvement.  But  from 
what  you  said  to  me  I  rather  fancy  these  two  pictures  were 
underexposed.  Isn’t  that  the  case?” 

The  buyer  proffered  a  few  more  suggestions  and  they 
parted  good  friends.  On  the  next  trip  the  salesman  received 
a  small  order  and  thereafter  he  never  failed  to  secure  his  share 
of  that  buyer’s  business. 

The  Salesman  as  a  Source  of  Information. — The  salesman 
who  travels  over  wide  stretches  of  country  and  visits  several 
big  cities  has  an  opportunity  of  comparing  notes  with  his 
brother  salesmen  in  the  same  and  in  other  lines.  In  this  way 
valuable  information  as  to  trade  tendencies  can  often  be  picked 
up.  When  the  buyer  is  trying  to  gauge  fashion  and  style  or  to 
ascertain  the  trend  of  prices  in  a  fluctuating  market,  he  often 
values  the  salesman’s  advice.  When  an  extensive  line  of  sam¬ 
ples,  more  or  less  bewildering,  is  brought  to  the  buyer’s  atten¬ 
tion,  his  good-will  can  often  be  gained  by  suggesting  to  him 
styles  which  are  selling  best.  Information  of  this  kind  can 
be  used  frequently  as  a  means  of  cementing  existing  friendly 
relations  or  establishing  new  ones.  An  enterprising  house 
always  keeps  its  salesmen  posted  with  information  as  to  trade 
tendencies. 


21 6 


PRINCIPLES  OF  SALESMANSHIP 


Friendly  Relations  in  the  Retail  Field — To  cultivate 

friendly  relations  with  customers  is  quite  as  profitable  a 
stimulant  to  retail  as  to  wholesale  trade. 

A  customer  entered  a  hardware  store  and  ordered  a  can 
of  varnish.  “What  is  it  to  be  used  for?”  asked  the  salesman. 
“We  have  varnishes  for  various  purposes.” 

“I  want  to  give  my  canoe  a  coating,”  was  the  reply. 

“Well,  then,  you  want  a  varnish  that  will  stand  water. 
Have  you  entered  for  the  regatta  next  week?” 

“Yes,”  responded  the  customer  with  evident  interest.  “I 
am  in  the  canoe  race.” 

A  conversation  followed  about  the  regatta  which  soon 
developed  into  a  bond  of  common  interest  between  the  two. 
The  storekeeper  added  one  more  permanent  customer  to  a  list 
of  patrons  who  traded  with  him  because  they  liked  his  genial 
manner  and  the  interest  he  took  in  their  hobbies. 

Sometimes  service  can  be  rendered  without  a  word  being 
spoken.  Two  young  people,  accompanied  by  an  elderly  lady, 
approached  the  soda  fountain  of  a  drug  store  on  a  warm,  sunny 
afternoon.  The  young  people  ordered  ice  cream,  but  their 
companion  did  not  wish  for  anything.  The  clerk  in  charge  of 
the  soda  fountain  served  three  glasses  of  ice  water  instead  of 
two.  As  it  was  a  hot  day,  he  set  the  fan  over  their  table  in 
motion.  Service-plus  such  as  this  is  always  appreciated  and, 
whether  rendered  in  the  wholesale  or  retail  field,  develops  that 
friendly  feeling  which  leads  to  permanent  business  relations. 

The  General  Principle. — The  cultivation  of  friendly  rela¬ 
tions  is  only  a  means  to  an  end  when  more  direct  methods  of 
making  a  sale  have  proved  unavailing.  This  point  has  been 
emphasized  in  the  chapter  on  the  “Preapproach.”  However, 
it  is  not  always  possible  to  learn  in  advance  or  at  the  first 
interview  what  may  be  the  special  interest  or  hobby  of  the 
prospect.  In  the  sale  of  specialties  of  moderate  value,  when  a 


FRIENDLY  RELATIONS  WITH  THE  BUYER 


217 


customer  is  called  upon  only  once  or  at  very  rare  intervals, 
this  method  is  impracticable.  In  wholesale  salesmanship,  how¬ 
ever,  and  when  selling  a  specialty  of  sufficient  importance  to 
warrant  several  attempts  to  make  a  sale,  every  effort  should 
be  made  to  learn  from  observation,  from  outside  information, 
and  from  queries  to  those  who  are  acquainted  with  the  buyer, 
what  his  hobby  or  interest  may  be.  In  the  hands  of  a  capable 
salesman  this  knowledge  once  gained  becomes  a  valuable  wedge 
of  entry  against  the  closed  door. 


CHAPTER  XIX 


THE  RETAIL  SATISFACTION  THAT  CREATES 

GOOD-WILL 

The  Importance  of  Retail  Good-Will _ We  have  seen 

how  important  it  is  for  the  salesman  and  the  house  he  repre¬ 
sents  to  establish  friendly  relations  with  the  wholesale  buyer. 
It  is  equally  important  for  the  retail  salesperson  to  do  every¬ 
thing  possible  to  secure  the  good-will  of  the  shopper.  Cus^ 
tomers  must  be  attracted  and  then  pleased  before  anything  can 
be  sold.  The  ideal  for  every  store  is  that  every  purchase  should 
give  complete  satisfaction.  The  nearer  the  approach  to  this 
ideal,  the  stronger  become  the  strands  of  good-will  that  bind 
customers  to  the  store. 

A  large  department  store  may  spend  $200,000  or  more  a 
year  in  advertising.  The  firm  knows  that  some  of  this  pub¬ 
licity  may  cost  several  times  the  profit  made  on  the  sales  that 
can  be  directly  traced  thereto.  The  main  object  of  publicity 
is  to  satisfy  and  please  the  customers  who  are  attracted  by  it, 
so  that  they  visit  the  store  again  and  again.  In  thus  securing 
the  customers’  good-will  the  manner  and  the  adequacy  of  the 
salesperson  who  waits  on  them  are  important  factors. 

The  Study  of  the  Art  of  Giving  Satisfaction — To  satisfy 

customers,  therefore,  should  be  the  chief  aim  of  every  sales¬ 
person.  The  study  of  the  art  of  pleasing  the  shopper  is  a 
postgraduate  course  in  salesmanship  that  every  retail  sales¬ 
person  needs.  Yet  the  majority  of  those  who  serve  behind 
retail  counters  give  little  if  any  thought  to  the  matter.  Cus¬ 
tomers  come  to  the  store  with  more  or  less  decided  ideas  as  to 


218 


RETAIL  SATISFACTION  CREATING  GOOD-WILL  219 

what  they  want,  and  so  the  assumption  is  that  the  sale  will 
depend  upon  the  mental  attitude  of  the  shopper.  When  the 
sale  is  made,  the  important  question  as  to  whether  the  goods 
will  give  the  satisfaction  that  can  reasonably  be  expected  or 
that  the  salesperson  has  led  the  customer  to  expect,  is  rarely 
considered;  and  if  the  customer  leaves  without  making  a 
purchase,  little  thought  is  given  to  the  reason  why. 

The  majority  of  retail  salespersons,  in  fact,  do  not  realize 
the  necessity  of  bringing  thought  to  bear  upon  their  daily 
duties — their  manner,  bearing,  truthfulness  of  statement,  and 
personal  efficiency;  and  only  a  minority  leaven  their  work  as 
a  whole  with  a  sincere  desire  to  please. 

Things  the  Salesperson  Must  Refrain  from  Doing _ The 

attitude  of  the  representative  on  the  road  is  positive  and  aggres¬ 
sive.  He  has  to  approach  and  sometimes  force  his  offer  upon 
the  attention  of  buyers.  The  attitude  of  the  retail  salesperson, 
if  not  inactive,  is  distinctly  more  passive  than  that  of  the  out¬ 
side  representative.  The  customer  comes  to  the  store;  he  or 
she  expresses  a  wish;  and  the  salesperson  seeks  to  fulfil  it  as 
satisfactorily  as  possible. 

In  the  cultivation  of  friendly  relations  with  the  buyer  there 
are  many  definite  and  positive  things  which  a  salesman  on 
the  road  can  remember  to  practice  when  opportunity  offers — 
all  with  the  object  of  creating  a  favorable  impression.  In  cul¬ 
tivating  the  good-will  of  retail  customers  it  is  more  difficult 
to  impress  them  with  the  personality  of  the  salesperson.  The 
first  requirement  on  the  part  of  salespersons  is  that  they  shall 
refrain  from  doing  anything  which  directly  or  indirectly 
disturbs  the  harmonious  relations  of  a  customer  with  the  store. 

For  example,  every  care  should  be  taken  to  avoid  giving 
offense  to  even  the  most  crotchety  and  unreasonable  customer ; 
all  customers  should  be  treated  alike,  regardless  of  their  social 
importance  as  revealed  by  appearance  or  manner ;  no  customer 


220 


PRINCIPLES  OF  SALESMANSHIP 


should  be  urged  to  buy  when  merely  looking  around ;  no  claims 
should  be  made  for  the  goods  which  cannot  be  upheld  by  use 
or  wear;  and  nothing  should  be  done  in  word  or  deed  which 
might  suggest  indifference  and  lack  of  that  attention  to  which 
all  shoppers  are  entitled  by  virtue  of  the  patronage  they  bestow 
upon  the  store. 

Positive  Things  the  Salesperson  Can  Do. — The  attitude 

of  the  salesperson  need,  however,  by  no  means  be  entirely 
passive.  The  salesman  on  the  road  can  make  a  favorable 
impression  upon  his  customers  by  the  geniality  and  sincerity  of 
his  manner.  The  salesperson  in  a  store  can  practice  the  art 
of  making  the  customers  feel  that  they  are  welcome  guests 
and  that  the  person  who  attends  to  them  is  anxious  to  please. 

It  must  not  be  forgotten  that  many  people  are  tempera¬ 
mentally  shy  and  diffident  and  dislike  to  give  trouble.  A  val¬ 
uable  quality  for  the  salesperson  is  the  ability  to  put  such 
customers  at  their  ease,  so  that  they  will  take  the  time  and 
trouble  needed  to  find  just  what  they  want  and  just  what  suits 
them.  Other  persons,  again,  are  exacting  to  the  verge  of 
unreasonableness.  This  class  may  make  large  drafts  on  the 
salesperson’s  patience,  but  if  this  patience  results  in  praise  of 
the  store  it  is  worth  the  effort  involved. 

The  Salesperson  and  the  Service  of  the  Store — The 

modern  word  which  sums  up  the  art  of  pleasing  customers  is 
that  of  “service.”  Service  may  be  said  to  begin  with  the 
buying.  This  presupposes  that  every  care  is  taken  in  the  selec¬ 
tion  of  goods  that  are  perforce  sold  at  a  price  to  cover  not 
only  a  direct  profit,  but  also  the  prestige  of  the  store  and  the 
service  it  renders.  Service  involves  also  the  delivery  of  the 
goods  to  the  customer  in  perfect  condition,  and  may  even  go 
so  far  as  an  offer  to  exchange  or  refund  the  price  of  any  article 
if  it  fails  to  give  satisfaction.  Between  the  beginning  and 


RETAIL  SATISFACTION  CREATING  GOOD-WILL 


221 


the  end  of  service  there  are  many  little  details  for  the  perform¬ 
ance  of  which  the  salesperson  is  responsible.  Unless  these  are 
attended  to  carefully  and  satisfactorily  the  perfection  of  the 
service  as  a  whole  suffers. 

The  Goods  Must  Give  Satisfaction — Service  may  thus  be 
divided  into  two  parts :  that  for  which  the  management  is 
responsible,  and  that  for  which  the  sales  force  is  responsible. 

The  management  is  primarily  responsible  for  the  satisfac¬ 
tion  that  the  goods  afford.  Yet  the  most  careful  buying  and 
the  utmost  honesty  of  statement  will  fail  in  the  effort  to  give 
satisfaction  unless  the  salesperson  describes  the  goods  accu¬ 
rately  and  with  equal  honesty.  To  the  best  of  his  ability,  the 
buyer  takes  every  precaution  not  to  offer  anything  for  sale 
that  cannot  be  expected  to  give  reasonable  service.  But,  in 
an  effort  to  meet  competition,  articles  are  frequently  manu¬ 
factured  that  while  of  fair  value  for  the  price  asked,  are  ill 
adapted  for  the  service  they  are  expected  to  render. 

Especially  is  this  the  case  with  things  which  have  to  with¬ 
stand  wear  and  tear.  The  appearance  and  finish  of  such  an 
article  may  fail  to  reveal  that  its  quality  is  of  a  low  grade. 
When  handling  wares  of  this  kind  the  temptation  is  great,  in 
order  to  make  a  sale,  especially  when  the  customer  is  doubtful 
of  the  quality,  to  exaggerate,  if  not  to  make  statements  which 
are  not  true.  When  the  goods  prove  disappointing,  as  they 
frequently  do,  the  customer  becomes  distrustful  of  the  store, 
its  methods  on  the  whole  are  regarded  with  a  tinge  of  suspicion, 
and  its  good-will  in  consequence  is  injured. 

A  salesperson  should  tell  the  truth  about  the  goods,  even 
if  thereby  a  sale  is  lost.  The  actual  truth  will  come  out  sooner 
or  later. 

When  a  customer  finds  that  a  misstatement  was  made  at 
the  time  of  purchasing  a  certain  article,  the  invariable  result 
is  a  loss  of  confidence  in  the  methods  of  the  store  when  the 


222 


PRINCIPLES  OF  SALESMANSHIP 


defects  of  the  purchase  are  discovered.  Although  a  customer 
may  refuse  an  article  when  a  true  description  of  its  quality  is 
given,  at  the  same  time  confidence  in  the  honesty  of  the  store 
is  increased  thereby.  One  sale  lost  through  honesty  of  state¬ 
ment  in  the  present  may  be  offset  by  a  dozen  or  more  made  in 
the  future  because  of  the  confidence  engendered  by  the  truth. 

The  Result  of  Truthfulness  of  Statement _ A  lady 

entered  a  furniture  store  to  ascertain  the  price  of  a  mahogany 
sideboard  she  had  seen  in  the  window. 

“What  is  the  price  ?”  she  asked. 

“Ninety  dollars,  Madam,”  replied  the  salesman. 

“Is  it  solid  mahogany?” 

“No,  Madam,”  promptly  replied  the  salesman.  “It  would 
be  impossible  to  purchase  a  solid  mahogany  sideboard  at  that 
figure.  You  will,  however,  find  that  the  veneer  is  perfectly 
applied  and  cannot  be  detected  unless  examined  by  an  expert. 
If  handled  with  reasonable  care  this  sideboard  will  outlast  your 
lifetime  and  that  of  the  next  generation.” 

The  lady  left  the  store  without  making  a  purchase.  Three 
days  later  she  returned  with  a  young  man  whom  she  was  about 
to  marry,  and  the  couple  selected  several  hundred  dollars’ 
worth  of  furniture.  While  making  her  purchases  she  told  the 
salesman  that  she  had  tried  to  buy  a  mahogany  sideboard  from 
another  dealer  who  had  offered  her  one  for  $95,  declaring  it 
to  be  solid  mahogany  throughout.  But  remembering  the  sales¬ 
man’s  remark  that  it  would  be  impossible  to  make  a  sideboard 
of  solid  mahogany  at  a  figure  near  this  price,  she  became 
suspicious  and  decided  to  make  all  her  purchases  at  the  store 
where  she  felt  reliance  upon  the  salesman’s  statements. 

Complaints  about  Unsatisfactory  Goods. — When  an  arti¬ 
cle  which  is  guaranteed  to  be  of  good  quality  and  of  a  certain 
kind  fails  to  give  satisfaction  in  rendering  the  service  that  can 


RETAIL  SATISFACTION  CREATING  GOOD-WILL  223 

reasonably  be  expected,  any  complaint  should  be  investigated 
and,  if  justifiable,  promptly  corrected.  The  policy  may  at 
times  seem  expensive,  but  experience  proves  that  it  pays  because 
of  the  good-will  thereby  produced. 

A  country  customer  bought  a  handsome  seasoned  oak 
rocker  by  mail  from  a  large  store.  In  ordering,  the  stipulation 
was  made  for  solid  oak,  as  a  strong  chair  was  required. 

Three  years  later  a  man  appeared  in  the  furniture  depart¬ 
ment  of  this  store  bringing  with  him  a  parcel.  He  insisted 
upon  seeing  the  buyer.  Before  saying  anything  he  undid  the 
parcel  and  revealed  the  end  of  a  broken  rocker. 

“I  bought  a  chair  from  you  over  three  years  ago/’  he  be¬ 
gan,  “and  I  paid  $20  on  purpose  to  be  sure  of  buying  one 
made  from  seasoned  oak.  When  I  buy  furniture  I  want  it  to 
last.  Now  look  what  has  happened  to  it!  In  twisting  this 
chair  around,  its  rocker  caught  a  table  leg  and  snapped  off  like 
a  cornstalk.” 

“Why,  a  rocker  of  seasoned  oak  should  stand  any  sort  of 
an  ordinary  blow  during  your  lifetime,”  replied  the  buyer  as 
he  picked  it  up  to  examine  it.  “This  break  has  evidently  been 
due  to  a  flaw  covered  by  the  stain.  We  are  sorry  to  have 
caused  you  this  inconvenience  and  trouble,  and  if  you  will  send 
the  chair  to  us  at  our  expense  we  will  have  it  repaired  and 
return  it  to  you  without  any  charge.” 

The  result  of  this  liberal  policy,  despite  the  three  years’ 
service  the  chair  had  given,  was  that  the  confidence  of  the 
customer,  who  at  first  doubted  the  truth  of  the  description  of 
the  rocker,  was  at  once  restored.  Though  this  incident  illus¬ 
trates  more  an  aspect  of  store  policy  than  of  salesmanship,  it 
emphasizes  the  importance  of  supporting  one’s  words  with 
deeds,  and  this  the  salesperson  should  always  strive  to  do. 
Truthfulness  of  statements  and  a  willingness  to  live  up  to  them 
are  requisites  for  building  up  that  confidence  without  which  no 
permanent  good-will  can  be  established. 


22  4 


PRINCIPLES  OF  SALESMANSHIP 


Superficial  Study  Kills  Enthusiasm. — In  addition  to  being 
truthful  in  describing  the  goods,  the  salesperson  must  put  life 
into  the  description.  Many  clerks  lack  enthusiasm  in  their 
manner  of  describing  or  presenting  their  goods  because  they 
study  them  superficially  and  consequently  have  only  a  slight 
interest  in  them.  They  learn  just  enough  to  give  a  stereotyped 
sales  talk.  They  do  not  study  the  goods  intensively  to  discover 
in  how  many  ways  appeal  can  be  made. 

The  saleswoman  who  is  showing  a  pair  of  gloves  to  a  retail 
customer  and  remarks,  “Just  feel  this  glove!  Isn’t  the  kid 
beautifully  soft,  and  isn’t  it  a  stylish  glove  too?  I  think  it  is 
one  of  the  smartest  styles  we  have  ever  sold,’’  indicates  by  the 
enthusiasm  of  her  manner  her  admiration  for  the  merchandise 
she  is  handling.  She  cannot  fail  to  arouse  the  same  feeling  in 
some  degree  in  the  mind  of  the  customer. 

Salespersons  who  lack  this  appreciation  of  the  fine  points  of 
the  goods  because  they  have  given  them  only  superficial  study 
present  the  sales  argument  in  a  flat  and  unconvincing  manner. 
They  wait  upon  a  certain  number  of  customers  a  day;  they 
explain  in  a  methodical,  but  half-hearted,  fashion  the  merits  of 
certain  goods  when  questioned  by  the  customer  who  happens 
to  need  them;  they  accept  an  order  often  without  so  much  as  a 
“thank  you,”  and  after  the  goods  are  wrapped  they  listlessly 
watch  the  customer  leave  the  store. 

Compare  with  the  languid,  apathetic  type  the  appearance 
and  expression  of  the  salesperson  who  is  enthusiastic;  the  ex¬ 
pression  is  wide-awake  and  alert ;  the  manner  pleasing  and 
courteous ;  and  the  whole  attention  is  concentrated  upon  giving 
satisfaction.  A  store  can  reflect  its  willingness  to  serve  and  its 
desire  to  please  only  through  its  sales  force.  Salespeople  who 
put  the  animation  of  sincere  yet  quiet  enthusiasm  into  theC 
work  benefit  the  house,  the  customer,  and  themselves. 

The  Clerical  Work. — A  detail  of  the  store’s  service  for 
which  the  salesperson  is  responsible  and  to  which  careful  atten- 


RETAIL  SATISFACTION  CREATING  GOOD-WILL  225 

tion  should  be  paid  is  the  clerical  work  attached  to  the  sale  and 
delivery  of  goods.  In  making  the  sales  slips  every  care  should 
be  taken  to  obtain  the  customer’s  correct  name,  with  the  correct 
street  address.  Everything  should  be  written  so  clearly  that 
there  is  no  possibility  of  making  a  mistake  later.  Delays  fre¬ 
quently  occur  because  of  such  mistakes  and  these  acts  of  care¬ 
lessness  create  an  unfavorable  impression. 

Having  made  out  the  sales  slip  accurately  in  every  detail, 
the  salesman  should  then  see  to  the  assembling  and  packing  of 
the  goods  so  far  as  the  responsibility  for  these  details  falls 
upon  him.  To  insure  accuracy  it  is  necessary  to  acquire  the 
habit  of  concentrating  while  performing  purely  routine  tasks. 
Mistakes,  for  instance,  frequently  occur  in  wrapping  up  parcels, 
and  orders  are  sent  out  mixed  or  incomplete  because  the  mind 
is  permitted  to  wander  to  other  subjects  while  the  hands  are 
engaged  in  sorting  and  packing  the  goods. 

Acquiring  the  Habit  of  Concentration. — One  person 
handles  a  multiplicity  of  details  year  in  and  year  out  and  a 
mistake  rarely  if  ever  occurs;  another,  with  much  less  detail  to 
attend  to,  frequently  makes  errors  of  omission  and  commission 
for  which  there  is  no  excuse.  The  one  thinks  about  the  task 
in  hand  to  the  exclusion  of  other  thoughts  and  the  work  in 
consequence  becomes  much  more  interesting — and  accurate. 
The  mind  of  the  other  is  allowed  to  wander  with  the  result  that 
only  a  perfunctory  interest  is  taken  in  an  irksome  task  and 
mistakes  are  the  natural  result. 

Since  much  of  the  work  of  retail  salespeople  involves  close 
attention  to  details,  it  is  important  that  the  habit  of  concen¬ 
tration  be  acquired.  The  faculty  can  be  developed  more  readily 
than  is  usually  imagined  if  one  will  remember  to  make  a  point 
of  doing  a  particular  task  just  as  well  as  it  can  be  done.  Drudg¬ 
ery  loses  its  monotony  and  boredom  vanishes  when  genuine 
effort  and  attention  are  given  to  details.  In  arranging  stock 
let  the  arrangement  be  as  perfect  as  possible  and  free  from  the 


226 


PRINCIPLES  OF  SALESMANSHIP 


slightest  trace  of  untidiness;  in  writing  out  a  sales  slip  make 
the  figures  so  clear  that  a  mistake  is  impossible  and  verify  the 
address  and  the  calculations  so  that  accuracy  is  assured ;  when 
wrapping  up  a  parcel  make  it  as  symmetrical  and  neat  as  it  can 
be  made. 

When  we  try  to  do  anything  as  well  as  it  can  be  done  we 
take  much  more  interest  in  the  task  and  this  is  the  secret  of 
concentration. 

All  Customers  Must  be  Treated  Alike. — An  invariable 
rule  of  every  well-managed  store  is  that  the  same  interest  and 
courtesy  should  be  paid  to  the  customer  who  is  shabbily  dressed 
as  to  the  one  who  is  well  dressed.  To  jump  to  conclusions 
merely  from  general  appearance  and  the  style  and  value  of  the 
garments  worn  is  sometimes  dangerous  as  the  following  inci¬ 
dent  shows : 

On  a  rainy  morning  a  lady  dressed  in  a  raincoat  that  seemed 
a  little  the  worse  for  wear,  a  hat  very  much  under  the  influence 
of  the  weather,  and  equipped  with  an  umbrella  of  nondescript 
character,  entered  a  fashionable  store  in  order  to  buy  some  lace 
for  her  daughter’s  wedding  dress.  When  she  reached  the  lace 
department  she  requested  the  salesperson  to  show  her  the 
Brussels  lace  she  wanted.  The  salesgirl  placed  an  imitation 
Jace  on  the  counter. 

“This  is  not  the  real  thing,”  said  the  customer.  “This  is 
not  what  I  want.  I  asked  for  Brussels  lace.” 

“Why,”  replied  the  salesgirl  with  a  look  of  surprise,  “that 
kind  of  lace  is  very  expensive.” 

The  customer  without  another  word  picked  up  her  umbrella 
and  made  her  way  to  the  exit  of  the  store.  The  manager 
happened  to  meet  her  as  she  was  leaving  and  recognized  her  as 
a  personage  of  considerable  social  importance.  He  judged  by 
her  manner  that  something  was  the  matter.  So  he  asked  her 
if  she  had  been  properly  treated. 


RETAIL  SATISFACTION  CREATING  GOOD-WILL  227 


“I  hav£  just  made  up  my  mind  never  to  enter  your  store 
again,”  was  the  curt  reply. 

The  case  was  explained,  the  manager  was  profuse  in  his 
apologies,  and  begged  the  customer  to  return.  She  was  placed 
in  charge  of  another  saleswoman  and  before  she  left  the  store 
her  purchases  amounted  to  over  $1,000. 

This  illustration  is  typical  of  the  treatment  frequently  of¬ 
fered  to  customers  who  fail  to  impress  the  ignorant  or  ill- 
mannered  salesperson  because  of  some  apparent  neglect  in  their 
appearance  and  their  apparel.  Of  course,  not  every  shabbily 
dressed  person  is  a  wealthy  shopper  in  disguise.  But  the  risk 
of  offending  a  well-to-do  patron  whose  appearance  in  no  way 
indicates  prosperity  is  much  too  great  to  permit  anything  but  a 
uniform  and  courteous  method  of  handling  all  customers  alike. 
Furthermore,  the  customer  who  is  forced  to  be  economical  this 
year  may  be  well-to-do  next  year.  Of  course,  as  a  matter  of 
fact,  the  truly  helpful  salesman  is  attentive  and  courteous  to 
everyone  because  it  is  a  basic  trait  in  him. 

Helping  the  Customer — A  man  entered  a  hardware  store 
and  asked  for  a  certain  kind  of  hook  to  use  in  support  of  a 
curtain  rod.  The  salesman  who  waited  on  him  curtly  replied, 
“We  haven’t  any  of  those — don’t  keep  them  in  stock,”  and 
turned  away  to  attend  to  another  customer. 

The  man  entered  a  second  store  and  here  the  salesman’s 
reply  was,  “I’m  sorry,  we  don’t  keep  these  hooks  in  stock 
because  they  are  a  special  kind  of  hook.  You  can  buy  them 
only  in  a  store  that  sells  curtains  or  curtain  rods.  A  big 
department  store  will  be  the  best  place  for  you  to  go.” 

The  customer  followed  the  advice  and  had  no  trouble  in 
procuring  what  he  wanted.  His  future  hardware  needs  were 
naturally  supplied  by  the  store  in  which  the  salesman  had  done 
his  best  to  help  him. 

This  incident  illustrates  the  importance  of  doing  every- 


228 


PRINCIPLES  OF  SALESMANSHIP 


thing  possible  to  help  a  customer,  even  if  there  seems  to  be  no 
possibility  of  deriving  present  or  future  benefit  from  the 
courtesy.  When  goods  are  being  displayed,  if  the  customer 
asks  for  advice  or  seems  to  rely  upon  the  salesman’s  taste  or 
opinion,  the  obvious  policy  is  for  the  latter  to  do  everything 
to  help  the  customer  come  to  a  decision.  When,  however,  a 
customer  makes  a  request  either  for  information  or  for  some¬ 
thing  to  be  done  which  in  no  way  relates  to  a  possible  sale, 
many  salespersons  mistakenly  assume  that  it  is  outside  their 
province  to  help  or  to  humor  that  customer. 

Patience. — Customers  who  are  difficult  to  please  or  who 
cannot  find  just  the  thing  they  have  in  mind,  often  sorely  try 
the  salesperson.  If  there  is  one  virtue  more  important  than 
another  for  salespeople  to  possess  in  such  a  case,  it  is  that  of 
patience.  Without  patience  they  cannot  give  consideration 
and  careful  attention  to  the  customer’s  needs,  desires,  or  whims. 

A  lady  bought  an  evening  gown  and  an  afternoon  dress. 
She  had  great  difficulty  in  making  up  her  mind  and  occupied 
over  an  hour  of  a  salesgirl’s  time.  Two  days  later  she  re¬ 
turned  the  evening  gown  because  she  did  not  like  its  appear¬ 
ance  in  artificial  light.  A  day  later  she  again  visited  the  store 
and  asked  for  the  saleswoman  from  whom  she  bought  the 
two  gowns.  As  the  salesperson  came  forward  the  customer 
greeted  her  in  this  way : 

“You  were  unusually  kind  and  patient  with  me  in  helping 
me  to  select  that  evening  gown  the  other  day,  which  I  found 
did  not  suit  me  when  I  tried  it  on  at  home.  I  now  want  to 
see  whether  I  can  find  something  that  I  like  better  than  the 
afternoon  dress.” 

With  such  an  erratic  customer  as  this  it  would  have  been 
natural  to  reveal  some  impatience,  but  the  salesgirl,  with  cour¬ 
teous  patience,  replied : 

“I  shall  be  very  glad  to  show  you  what  we  have,  Madam-” 


RETAIL  SATISFACTION  CREATING  GOOD-WILL  229 


Thereupon  a  lengthy  and  patient  search  began  which  lasted 
over  an  hour.  Before  the  customer  left  she  not  only  decided 
to  keep  the  afternoon  dress  but  she  selected  another  and  much 
more  expensive  evening  gown  in  place  of  the  one  returned. 

“She  was  so  helpful,”  the  customer  exclaimed  to  a  friend 
as  they  left  the  store  together.  “I  really  did  not  know  what 
kind  of  evening  gown  I  wanted.  But  she  went  to  so  much 
trouble.  She  found  something  that  just  suited  me  in  the  end 
and  I  simply  had  to  buy  it.  I  shall  ask  for  her  again  when  I 
want  another  gown.” 

However  inexperienced  and  ignorant  a  salesperson  may  be, 
much  will  be  forgiven  for  the  sake  of  patience  and  a  sincere 
desire  to  help  others.  Helpfulness,  moreover,  soon  becomes 
second  nature  if  we  look  for  opportunities  to  practice  it. 

The  store  that  enjoys  the  reputation  of  employing  sales¬ 
people  who  are  uniformly  courteous  and  desirous  of  helping 
customers,  finds  in  this  one  of  its  biggest  business  assets.  The 
salesperson  who  sincerely  tries  to  please  and  who  remembers 
that  the  likes,  dislikes,  and  feelings  of  the  customer  must  come 
first  in  consideration  is  the  type  of  employee  who  builds  up 
that  intangible  but  most  concrete  of  business  assets — good¬ 
will  founded  on  satisfaction. 


CHAPTER  XX 


THE  SALESMAN  AND  THE  SALES  MANAGER 

Dependence  of  the  Salesman  upon  the  Management. — All 

the  skill  of  the  salesman  is  abortive  unless  he  has  the  support 
of  a  business  which  manufactures  or  distributes  a  commodity 
of  unquestionable  merit,  and  which  has  an  efficient  working 
organization  carrying  out  a  constructive  sales  policy.  The 
more  clearly  the  salesman  understands  the  organization  and 
policies  of  his  company,  the  more  fully  he  understands  what 
assistance  he  may  expect  from  them  and  what  responsibilities 
and  support  he  himself  owes  to  them,  the  more  successful  will 
his  own  work  be. 

The  ultimate  purpose  of  every  business  organization  is  to 
sell  its  commodities  or  its  service,  at  a  profit.  While  its  prim¬ 
ary  purpose  may  be  the  production  of  goods,  nevertheless  it 
must  sell  those  goods  at  a  profit  if  it  is  to  maintain  itself  suc¬ 
cessfully.  It  is  obvious,  therefore,  that  the  efficiency  of  the 
sales  department  is  of  first  importance  to  every  other  depart¬ 
ment.  On  the  other  hand,  the  sales  policy  must  co-ordinate 
with  the  production  or  distribution  conditions  and  with  the 
financial  limitations  of  the  company.  It  is  the  duty  of  the 
general  management  to  see  that  all  departments  of  the  busi¬ 
ness  so  work  together  as  to  make  a  harmonious  and  vigorous 
unit  that  will  successfully  accomplish  the  purpose  of  the 
organization. 

The  Sales  Manager  and  His  Functions. — Between  the 
management  and  the  sales  force  is  the  sales  manager,  who  acts 


230 


THE  SALESMAN  AND  THE  SALES  MANAGER 


231 


as  a  power  transmission  line  between  the  salesman  and  the 
organization  as  a  whole.  His  work  is,  on  the  one  hand,  to 
co-operate  with  the  executives  in  charge  of  the  departments 
of  finance  and  production,  and  on  the  other  hand,  to  assist 
the  salesmen  to  carry  out  the  policies  of  the  house. 

Among  the  special  functions  of  the  sales  manager  are  the 
employment  of  salesmen,  the  determination  of  fair  and  uniform 
remuneration,  and  the  assignment  of  territory.  He  must  main¬ 
tain  discipline  among  the  sales  force  and  see  that  they  do  not 
depart  from  the  rules  and  policies  of  the  company.  He  must 
also  secure  from  such  reports  as  are  needed  for  formulating 
and  directing  the  sales  campaigns. 

There  are  few  periods,  if  any,  during  the  year  when  pro¬ 
duction  and  sales  are  equal.  Sometimes  there  is  a  surplus  of 
stock  due  to  overproduction;  at  other  times  merchandise  is 
allowed  to  accumulate  in  anticipation  of  a  seasonal  demand 
which  would  exceed  normal  production.  Certain  goods  may 
require  intensive  selling  pressure  to  get  the  volume  necessary 
to  assure  a  profit.  On  the  other  hand,  the  sales  department 
may  have  to  remove  sales  effort  from  certain  goods  to  enable 
the  factory  to  catch  up  with  orders. 

The  purpose  of  the  sales  manager  is  to  plan  the  sales 
activity  so  as  to  make  sure  that  all  the  commodities  offered  for 
sale  will  spread  evenly  over  the  whole  of  the  territory  covered 
and  that  the  factory  will  be  operating  on  full  time  with  no 
expensive  overtime  nor  slack  periods.  The  best  method  of 
making  sure  that  the  orders  taken  by  the  sales  department 
will  keep  even  pace  with  the  goods  produced  by  the  manufac¬ 
turing  department  is  the  sales  quota,  as  set  for  each  salesman 
for  a  given  period  of  time  in  a  given  territory  for  each  product 
of  the  company. 

The  Salesman’s  Attitude  Toward  the  Management _ The 

salesman’s  efforts  must  be  articulated  with  the  general  policies 


232 


PRINCIPLES  OF  SALESMANSHIP 


of  the  sales  department.  If  he  considered  merely  his  own 
desire  to  please  his  customers,  he  might  easily  embarrass  his 
manager  by  making  concessions  in  price,  terms,  conditions  of 
making,  delivery,  and  such  like,  that  disturb  the  working  of 
the  organization.  He  must  realize  that  there  must  be  a  head 
and  that  his  own  ideas  must  be  subordinated  to  the  general 
policies  and  plans  of  the  management. 

The  sales  manager  is  usually  glad  to  explain  the  reason 
for  any  rule  he  establishes  to  any  salesman  who  may  feel  that 
it  works  a  hardship  on  him.  The  salesman  who  hesitates  to 
ask  his  manager  freely  and  frankly  for  explanation  or  help 
is  depriving  himself  of  one  of  his  privileges.  The  salesman 
must  not  be  temperamental,  however,  or  expect  to  be  praised 
for  merely  doing  his  duty,  nor  must  he  show  rancor  at  neces¬ 
sary  criticism.  In  a  word,  he  should  be  a  support  to  the 
department  and  not  expect  to  use  it  as  a  crutch. 

The  Influence  of  Sales  on  Labor  Control. — When  the 
salesman,  working  in  harmony  with  the  sales  manager’s  in¬ 
structions,  secures  his  quota,  his  work  has  a  direct  beneficial 
effect  upon  the  labor  conditions  in  the  factory.  An  attained 
sales  quota  means  a  busy  production  department.  It  requires 
no  deep  thought  to  appreciate  the  effect  of  full  and  continuous 
employment  on  labor.  When  a  workman  is  sure  of  a  regular 
pay  envelope  he  is  happier  and  more  contented  on  his  job,  and 
therefore  does  better  work.  Full-time  employment  means  to 
the  worker  that  his  family  is  assured  the  normal  necessities  and 
comfort  of  life. 

Furthermore,  it  is  well  recognized  that  the  product  of 
intermittent  work  is  not  equal  in  quality  to  regular  week-in 
and  week-out  production.  When  the  salesman  sells  his  quota 
he  is  also  helping  to  maintain  and  improve  the  quality  of  the 
goods  his  customers  receive.  As  quality  improves,  the  oppor¬ 
tunity  for  repeat  orders  becomes  easier. 


THE  SALESMAN  AND  THE  SALES  MANAGER 


233 


Salesmen  working  on  a  commission  basis  often  feel  that 
they  may  please  themselves  whether  they  work  5  hours  or  50 
hours  a  week.  Obviously,  he  should  work  as  long  and  as 
faithfully  on  a  commission  as  on  a  salary  basis.  A  commission 
salesman  who  fails  to  give  his  best  efforts  to  his  work  may  very 
easily  cause  his  sales  manager  to  fail  in  selling  the  factory 
quota. 

The  salesman  should  consider  his  quota  both  from  the  cash 
total  of  sales  and  from  the  number  of  families  his  sales 
efforts  keep  well  cared  for.  If  it  requires  twenty  workmen  to 
make  the  goods  that  the  salesman  sells,  the  salesman’s  efforts 
are  actually  finding  the  means  of  work  for  twenty  men,  and 
contentment  and  happiness  for  their  families.  Such  a  view  of 
his  sales  quota  will  elevate  the  quality  of  the  salesman’s  work 
and  intensify  his  satisfaction. 

Special  Orders  a  Hindrance — In  working  for  his  quota, 
however,  the  salesman  should  as  far  as  possible  avoid  special 
or  “rush”  orders.  Standarization  is  one  of  the  scientific  means 
of  reducing  production  costs  and  improving  the  quality  of  pro¬ 
duction.  When  the  salesman  requires  changed  specifications, 
showing  no  recognition  of  the  fact  that  such  orders  (unless  in 
large  quantity)  yield  no  profit  to  the  house,  he  is  not  studying 
the  best  interests  of  his  house,  nor  those  of  his  customer. 

Special  or  rush  orders  derange  production  schedules  and 
delay  deliveries  of  regular  orders.  Because  of  haste  in  execut¬ 
ing  such  orders,  moreover,  the  special  or  ruch  goods  themselves 
suffer  somewhat  in  finish  or  appearance. 

When  asked  how  soon  he  can  deliver,  the  salesman  should 
ask,  “When  do  you  wish  them?”  instead  of  replying,  “We 
can  ship  at  once.”  If  the  customer  can  wait  a  week  or  two  that 
fact  should  be  noted  on  the  order.  It  is  then  possible  to  make 
deliveries  within  the  specified  time,  yet  at  a  date  that  throws 
but  little  burden  on  production. 


234 


PRINCIPLES  OF  SALESMANSHIP 


The  Assistance  Provided  the  Salesman. — Salesmen 

should  take  advantage  of  the  assistance  that  the  sales  manager 
and  the  other  executives  of  the  company  can  give  them.  It  is 
of  importance  for  a  young  man  to  consider  carefully,  before 
joining  an  organization,  just  what  the  company  has  done  or 
will  do  to  make  selling  possible,  since  the  salesman’s  success 
will  depend  to  a  great  extent  upon  the  assistance  given  him. 

The  sales  manager  considers  it  one  of  the  most  important 
parts  of  his  work  to  help  the  salesman  personally  in  opening 
new  territory  and  in  calling  on  difficult  customers.  He  does 
not  take  a  very  active  part  in  the  selling  but  merely  adds  the 
dignity  and  emphasis  of  his  rank  when  it  becomes  necessary. 
Dealers  naturally  feel  that  they  cannot  give  a  sales  manager  the 
lame  excuses  that  they  offer  to  the  rank  and  file  of  salesmen. 
They  may  care  but  little  what  the  salesman  thinks  of  them, 
but  they  like  to  stand  well  in  the  opinion  of  the  man  higher  up. 

The  Sales  Manual — The  sales  manual  is  a  form  of  assis¬ 
tance  given  the  salesman,  the  importance  of  which  is  too  often 
underestimated.  That  hundreds  of  salesmen  have  succeeded 
without  manuals  proves  nothing.  There  is  no  way  of  judging 
how  much  better  these  men  might  have  been  had  they  had  the 
advantage  of  sales  manuals,  nor  how  many  others  have  been 
failures  or  near  failures  because  they  have  never  had  this  type 
of  help.  The  alert  salesman  welcomes  every  form  of  instruc¬ 
tion  that  may  contribute  to  his  efficiency.  The  chief  value  of 
the  manual  consists  in  placing  in  the  hands  of  the  salesman 
instructive  material  of  the  following  nature : 

1.  The  history  of  the  company. 

2.  The  organization  of  the  company  (with  chart). 

3.  Merchandise  information  and  possibly  processes  of  manu¬ 

facture. 

4.  Uses  of  the  product  and  information  concerning  the 

market. 


THE  SALESMAN  AND  THE  SALES  MANAGER 


5.  Common  objections  and  their  answers. 

6.  The  use  of  selling  equipment. 

7.  The  use  of  report  forms. 

8.  The  policies  of  the  company. 

9.  Explanation  of  advertising  and  dealers’  helps. 

10.  Testimonials. 

11.  The  principles  of  salesmanship. 

If  a  company  does  not  supply  this  information  in  printed 
form,  it  may  have  it  available  for  the  salesman  with  gumption 
enough  to  ask  for  it.  A  salesman  should  be  reluctant  to  work 
for  a  company  that  declines  to  furnish  such  information. 

Advertising. — The  indifferent  attitude  of  many  salesmen 
toward  the  advertising  methods  and  material  of  their  organi¬ 
zations  constitute  a  serious  weakness  in  the  machine  of  dis¬ 
tribution.  Many  salesmen,  while  admitting  the  theoretical 
value  of  advertising,  fail  to  make  the  most  of  the  advertising 
which  their  firm  puts  out  or  to  co-operate  adequately  with  the 
advertising  department.  Business  houses  that  have  spent  thou¬ 
sands  of  dollars  in  advertising  have  failed  to  profit  by  it  because 
of  the  lack  of  co-operation  of  the  salesmen.  Confidence  and 
good-will  which  the  advertising  has  created,  inquiries  which  the 
salesman  should  have  turned  into  orders,  may  be  killed  in  a 
moment  by  his  indifference  or  lack  of  comprehension. 

The  salesman  is  under  obligation  to  understand  and  carry 
out  the  advertising  policies  of  his  house.  He  will  be  well  paid 
for  his  co-operation.  The  salesman  often  imagines  that  his 
success  is  wholly  personal  and  that  the  sums  spent  on  adver¬ 
tising  had  better  be  added  to  his  commissions.  And  if  the 
advertising  in  some  instances  secures  direct  orders,  he  is  prom 
to  fear  that  it  will  eventually  lead  to  his  own  elimination.  The 
truth  is,  the  best  selling  records  are  made  in  connection  with 
advertising,  and  the  way  of  the  salesman  of  the  well-advertised 
product  is  made  easy  even  though  he  is  unaware  of  the  fact. 


236 


PRINCIPLES  OF  SALESMANSHIP 


The  chief  function  of  the  salesman  is  essentially  closing 
sales,  getting  orders,  because  no  matter  how  attractive  his  talk 
and  personality,  unless  he  takes  orders  he  is  no  salesman. 
Hence  a  salesman  should  be  mainly  busied  with  inducing 
action,  working  with  prospects  whose  attention  is  already  won 
and  whose  interest  is  already  created.  Under  such  circum¬ 
stances  he  will  sell  far  more  rapidly  and,  as  a  consequence,  get 
a  much  larger  proportion  of  daily,  weekly,  or  monthly  business 
for  himself  and  for  his  house.  If  that  confidence  which  alone 
leads  to  good  buying  is  established  even  in  part  by  skilful 
advertising,  the  customer  is  well  along  on  the  mental  journey 
to  action  when  the  salesman  first  meets  him.  It  must  be 
recognized  that  the  first  two  stages  of  the  sales  process,  atten¬ 
tion  and  interest,  are  developed  with  comparative  ease  and  to 
a  high  degree  by  the  use  of  advertising. 

Catalogs — Similarly,  the  salesman’s  work  is  very  greatly 
assisted  if  his  firm  provides  him  with  a  well-made  catalog. 
Even  though  a  product  is  well  advertised  to  the  consumer  and 
there  is  a  steady  demand  for  it,  its  distribution  is  not  going 
to  be  thorough  unless  ample  machinery  is  provided  for  getting 
the  orders.  The  salesman  cannot  assume  the  entire  burden  of 
distribution.  A  catalog  is  one  of  the  best  and  also  one  of  the 
commonest  methods  of  reinforcing  his  efforts.  Once  a  pros¬ 
pect  has  become  an  established  customer  of  a  firm,  the  catalog 
will  prove  “a  friend  in  need”  to  be  consulted  and  used  in  emer¬ 
gency.  The  customer’s  use  of  the  catalog  in  no  way  leads  to 
disuse  of  other  selling  methods;  for  what  maintains  his  confi¬ 
dence  in  the  firm  is  of  course  his  repeated  personal  contact 
with  the  firm’s  representative,  i.e.,  the  salesman. 

Sales  Campaign  Planning. — Under  an  able  manager  the 
salesman  is  encouraged  to  improve  his  selling,  by  the  intro¬ 
duction  of  more  system,  more  thoroughness,  and  more  energy 


THE  SALESMAN  AND  THE  SALES  MANAGER 


into  his  work.  His  route  through  his  territory,  his  lists  of 
prospects,  his  modes  of  approach,  are  all  checked  up  and  revised 
from  time  to  time.  Instead  of  half  working  some  towns  and 
never  visiting  others,  the  salesman  is  helped  to  plan  his  trip 
so  that  he  “makes”  certain  towns  every  day  and  must  call  on 
all  likely  prospects.  To  carry  out  this  schedule  he  must  put  in 
a  good  day’s  work.  If  he  does  and  has  any  sales  ability  at  all, 
the  results  of  his  efforts  are  bound  to  be  satisfactory.  Even  an 
automaton  calling  on  prospects  all  day  long  and  putting  up  a 
definite  proposition  to  them  will  get  some  business. 

Planning  the  Salesman’s  Calls — The  average  number  of 
calls  a  salesman  makes  is  just  as  important  as  the  number  of 
prospects  he  actually  sells.  When  a  man  begins  to  sell  every 
prospect  he  calls  upon,  or  anywhere  near  that  proportion,  that 
fact  is  a  danger  signal.  Even  though  experience  shows  that 
when  a  territory  is  properly  covered  not  more  than  three  calls 
out  of  ten  produce  immediate  orders,  the  whole  ten  calls  should 
be  made.  The  product  does  not  get  adequate  representation 
unless  they  are  made.  The  daily  reports  of  calls  and  sales  will 
show  in  the  long  run  whether  a  salesman  is  really  representing 
the  company  in  his  territory  or  merely  skimming  the  cream. 

With  very  few  exceptions  those  firms  which  keep  accurate 
records  report  that  the  ratio  between  the  number  of  calls  and 
the  number  of  sales  per  day  remains  fairly  constant,  and  this 
ratio  is  used  as  a  check  on  the  daily  reports. 

Tomorrow’s  business  may  depend  to  a  considerable  extent 
upon  the  apparently  unprofitable  calls  made  today,  and  the 
salesman  who  judges  his  work  wholly  upon  the  number  of 
orders  he  takes  may  be  omitting  several  interviews  and  the 
business  that  may  eventuate  from  them. 

Generally  speaking,  the  number  of  calls  that  the  salesman 
can  make  per  day  will  vary  according  to  five  different  condi¬ 
tions  : 


238 


PRINCIPLES  OF  SALESMANSHIP 


1.  The  nature  of  the  commodity;  the  degree  of  ease  with 

which  it  can  be  demonstrated  and  explained. 

2.  The  density  of  the  market,  i.e.,  the  ease  with  which  the 

salesman  can  get  from  one  prospect  to  the  next. 

3.  The  factors  involved  in  making  sales,  i.e.,  the  actual  time 

and  energy  consumed  in  the  details  of  selling. 

4.  The  advertising  that  has  preceded  the  salesman  and  the 

customer’s  consequent  previous  knowledge  of  the  line 

of  goods  or  of  the  firm. 

5.  The  average  size  of  the  order  placed. 

The  sales  manager  judges  the  salesman,  not  merely  upon 
the  amount  of  gross  business  brought  in,  but  by  the  thorough¬ 
ness  with  which  his  firm  is  represented  in  his  territory.  A 
salesman  may  call  on  his  customers  once  every  two  months,  or 
six  months,  or  perhaps  only  once  a  year.  Many  things  can 
happen  between  these  trips.  The  customer  may  lose  his  enthu¬ 
siasm  for  the  salesman’s  product.  He  can  even  forget  about 
it  entirely.  Competition  can  become  strongly  entrenched.  With 
competition  as  active  as  it  is  today,  the  sales  manager  knows 
that  a  territory  requires  constant  watching,  and  therefore  he 
requires  his  salesman  to  make  calls,  even  though  the  salesman 
himself  may  deem  them  lost  motion. 

Use  of  the  Company’s  Territory. — There  are  hundreds  of 
salesmen,  honest  and  hard  workers,  who  keep  territory  covered 
but  hold  business  down  because  they  do  not  know  how  to  build 
it  up.  They  plod  along,  selling  each  customer  a  little  on  every 
trip;  the  dealers  buy  small  complementary  orders  because  the 
salesman  is  so  pleasant  and  persistent.  The  trouble  with  such 
salesmen  is  the  lack  of  a  definite  purpose.  Hard  work  alone 
is  not  enough.  It  is  necessary  to  know  how  to  work  hard.  To 
do  this  he  should  know  the  sales  possibilities  of  the  territory, 
and  of  the  prospects  in  the  territory.  He  should  make  or 
exceed  the  daily  quota  of  sales  as  worked  out  for  him  by  the 


THE  SALESMAN  AND  THE  SALES  MANAGER 


239 


sales  department.  He  should  plan  daily  to  get  new  customers, 
at  the  same  time  properly  caring  for  the  old  customers.  He 
should  strive  to  increase  the  amount  of  time  spent  each  day 
in  interviewing  by  scheduling  his  work.  To  summarize,  he 
should  set  himself  a  definite  daily  task.  The  habit  of  indefinite¬ 
ness,  or  lack  of  planning,  costs  many  salesmen  their  chances 
for  promotion  or  even  their  positions.  A  competent  and  sym¬ 
pathetic  sales  manager  can  do  a  great  deal  to  aid  the  salesman 
to  reach  his  best  productivity. 

Helping  a  Man  to  Help  Himself. — A  sales  manager  was 
put  in  charge  of  the  sales  department  of  an  organization  whose 
business  had  been  allowed  to  fall  off.  Almost  at  once  one  of 
the  salesmen  complained  that  there  was  not  enough  business 
in  his  present  territory  to  support  a  salesman  and  that  he 
wanted  another  section.  The  manager  said,  “If  you  want  it, 
you  can  have  some  other  territory.  But  we  must  keep  a  man 
in  your  old  territory.  Before  you  are  transferred,  work  out 
for  me  a  digest  or  report  of  all  information  that  the  new  man 
will  need.  Get  a  map  of  the  territory,  and  mark  it  out  with 
colored  tacks  to  show  every  possible  customer,  indicating  every 
one  of  them  that  has  only  our  product,  every  one  that  carries 
some  of  our  equipment,  and  all  those  that  have  none  at  all. 
And  list  the  figures  and  special  data  for  each  of  these  together 
with  the  routing,  train  schedule,  hotel  and  showroom  accom¬ 
modations,  and  so  forth.  It  ought  to  take  you  about  two  weeks 
to  work  that  out,  you  know  most  of  the  facts,  but  you  will  have 
to  canvass  some  of  the  plants  to  get  information.  Come  back 
when  you  have  the  job  finished.” 

The  salesman  pottered  around  for  several  days  with  his 
map  and  tacks.  Then  he  got  to  the  stage  where  he  had  to  go 
out  after  more  information.  Before  his  two  weeks  were  up 
he  wrote:  “If  you  try  to  transfer  me  out  of  this  territory, 
I’ll  quit.” 


240 


PRINCIPLES  OF  SALESMANSHIP 


The  manager  knew  well  enough  that  a  systematic  survey 
of  the  territory  would  quickly  convince  the  salesman  of  the 
true  nature  of  his  difficulty.  He  also  knew  that  the  details  of  a 
local  campaign  are  best  settled  by  the  man  who  works  that 
district. 

Danger  Points — Special  Discounts  and  Concessions. — 

There  are  certain  points  as  to  which  the  salesman  should  be 
specially  careful  to  keep  his  conduct  in  line  with  company 
policy.  One  of  these  concerns  special  discounts  and  conces¬ 
sions.  Some  salesmen  still  retain  the  habit  of  granting  to 
customers  special  discounts  out  of  their  own  commissions,  a 
practice  that  has  survived  from  the  old  school  of  salesmanship 
which  advocated  getting  business  “any  old  way  as  long  as 
you  get  it.” 

This  practice  is  fundamentally  dishonest,  and  deprives  the 
house  either  of  trade  or  money  to  which  it  is  entitled,  for  when 
one  customer  finds  out  that  another  has  an  inside  discount  he 
is  rightly  indignant  and  transfers  his  patronage  to  another 
firm,  or  else  insists  on  that  special  rate  for  himself.  The  special 
or  personal  discount  is  a  bribe,  buying  an  order.  It  gets  nearer 
and  dearer  to  buy  business,  and  the  salesman  soon  finds  he 
has  too  little  left  of  his  income  to  live  on,  and  resigns.  Then 
follows  the  long,  uphill  pull  of  rebuilding  the  territory,  a  heart¬ 
rending  task  for  the  new  man  who  receives  this  territory,  since 
the  goods  are  not  properly  sold  to  those  customers  because  they 
have  been  bought  on  the  basis  of  the  special  discount  and  not 
on  the  merits  of  the  goods.  Special  or  private  concessions  of 
any  sort  are  to  be  shunned;  they  are  a  contradiction  of  justice 
and  fair  play. 

The  Danger  of  Overloading  the  Dealer. — Another  point 
for  the  salesman  to  watch  concerns  the  amount  that  mav 

J 

profitably  be  sold  to  each  customer.  Not  many  years  ago,  the 


THE  SALESMAN  AND  THE  SALES  MANAGER 


241 


policy  of  keeping  the  dealer  busy  disposing  of  overstock  was 
regarded  as  a  satisfactory  method  of  preventing  him  from 
getting  into  the  hands  of  a  competitor.  But  such  a  practice 
is  not  common  today.  Salesmen  now  realize  that  it  is  suicidal 
to  permit  a  dealer  to  buy  more  than  he  can  sell  profitably.  An 
oversupply  of  a  product  slows  up  turnover,  leads  to  senseless 
price-cutting,  and  eventually  causes  a  dealer  to  become  so  dis¬ 
satisfied  with  a  really  valid  commodity  that  he  abandons  it 
entirely.  Hence,  many  progressive  salesmen  will  cut  down, 
an  order  if  they  think  it  is  too  large. 

On  the  other  hand,  it  is  the  duty  of  the  salesman  to  see 
that  his  customers  buy  adequate  quantities.  The  dealer  who 
buys  in  trivial  or  piecemeal  lots  from  every  salesman  who 
comes  along  does  not  keep  up  his  stock.  He  is  always  running 
out  of  lines,  and  makes  no  attempt  to  fill  them  until  the  sales¬ 
man  selling  that  particular  merchandise  comes  around  again. 
Such  a  dealer  is  a  poor  representative  for  a  distributor.  Mani¬ 
festly  a  dealer  who  is  as  likely  as  not  to  be  out  of  a  line  of 
goods  will  create  dissatisfaction  among  his  customers  and  their 
trade  will  go  to  a  competitor  who  may  carry  another  line 
competing  not  only  with  this  shiftless  retailer,  but  with  the 
wholesale  salesman’s  firm  as  well.  Consequently  the  wholesale 
salesman  must  educate  the  improvident  retailer  in  maintaining 
adequate  stocks  of  goods  and  in  keeping  up  a  quick  turnover 
without  sacrifice  in  “bargain”  selling. 

The  Profitableness  of  Co-operation. — Matters  such  as 
these  discussed  in  this  chapter  the  sales  manager  is  constantly 
considering.  He  analyzes  carefully  the  requirements  of  the 
trade  and  the  general  policies  of  the  management.  From  the 
result  of  his  analyses  he  builds  up  sales  policies  and  methods 
covering  all  phases  of  distribution.  The  more  close  and  friendly 
the  co-operation  between  salesman  and  manager  the  greater 
the  salesman’s  permanent  success  and  profit.  The  policies  and 


242 


PRINCIPLES  OF  SALESMANSHIP 


methods  of  the  organization  make  the  guide-posts  which  when 
followed  will  lead  him  to  more  and  more  orders  and  more  and 
more  customers  and  business  friends. 

Credits  and  Collections. — The  salesman  inevitably  must 
co-operate  with  the  credit  department  of  his  company.  He 
must  himself  supplement  for  his  credit  department  the  infor¬ 
mation  furnished  from  the  credit  agencies,  if  he  desires  to 
obtain  the  maximum  amount  of  business  with  a  minimum  risk, 
for  even  the  best  credit  agencies  cannot  keep  their  information 
entirely  up  to  the  minute.  Besides,  capital  is  not  the  only  index 
of  safety.  Character  and  ability  are  of  even  more  importance. 
The  salesman  in  the  field,  if  he  keeps  his  eyes  and  ears  open,  is 
able  to  get  first-hand  knowledge  of  conditions  which  the  credit 
man  should  know  in  order  to  decide  correctly  whether  to 
extend  or  limit  the  credit  of  a  customer. 

In  addition  to  being  a  sort  of  assistant  credit  man,  turning 
back  to  the  home  office  constant  credit  information  about  his 
customers,  the  salesman  also  aids  as  a  collector.  His  interest 
in  this  matter  is  shown  by  the  fact  that  very  often  he  volun¬ 
tarily  undertakes  to  make  collections  among  those  who  are 
a  little  slow  in  paying.  For  this  and  for  other  obvious  reasons 
carbon  copies  of  all  important  correspondence  between  the 
home  office  and  the  customer  are  often  sent  to  the  most  tried 
and  reliable  salesmen.  It  is  not  ordinarily  desirable  for  a 
salesman  to  do  any  routine  collection  work  but  it  is  good  prac¬ 
tice  for  him  to  deal  with  special  cases.  In  the  case  of  a  disputed 
account  the  customer  may  feel  that  an  allowance  is  due  on 
account  of  breakage,  delay,  or  deterioration.  As  in  the  case 
of  all  complaints,  the  salesman  should  aid  in  making  a  satis¬ 
factory  adjustment. 

Many  salesmen  look  upon  the  work  of  the  collection  de¬ 
partment  as  a -deterrent  factor  that  necessarily  hinders  the 
increase  of  sales.  Every  salesman,  however,  must  accept  the 


THE  SALESMAN  AND  THE  SALES  MANAGER 


243 


fact  that  collections  are  to  be  expected;  that  they  do  not  com¬ 
mence  at  the  maturity  of  an  invoice,  but  rather,  their  existence 
is  coincident  with  the  actual  placing  of  an  order. 

Many  salesmen  lose  effectiveness  because  they  side  with 
the  slow  payers  and  find  excuses  for  those  customers  who 
neglect  to  pay  their  bills.  They  fail  to  realize  that  they  lose 
possible  sales  on  each  of  these  accounts,  since  if  the  bills  are 
paid  monthly  when  due,  there  is  a  possibility  of  twelve  sales  a 
year,  but  if  the  account  is  overdue  the  purchaser  knows  he 
cannot  readily  buy  until  he  has  paid  what  he  owes.  The  sales¬ 
man  should  accept  the  sound  theory  that  a  sale  is  damaged 
every  time  the  buyer  fails  to  pay  in  accordance  with  the  terms 
of  the  sale.  He  should  work  out  practical  methods  of  passing 
along  this  view  of  collections  to  his  customers  other  than  the 
common  practice  of  intimating  to  the  customer  that  he  is 
injuring  his  credit  standing. 

It  does  not  help  matters,  of  course,  to  nag  or  to  preach. 
It  is  better  to  assume  that  the  bill  is  a  natural  event  in  the 
average  man’s  life,  that  he  expects  to  pay  it,  and  that  he  pre¬ 
fers  to  have  the  salesman  remind  him  in  time  to  take  advantage 
of  the  terms  or  to  prevent  his  getting  behind.  If  a  customer’s 
credit  is  endangered,  the  salesman  should  encourage  a  full 
statement  of  the  exact  nature  of  the  case  and  help  the  customer 
to  devise  and  carry  out  a  thoroughly  reasonable  plan  of  settle¬ 
ment. 

If  the  customer  feels  that  the  company  should  extend  his 
credit,  the  salesman  might  answer  thus,  “Mr.  Clark,  we  are 
dealing  with  more  than  12,000  accounts.  I  expect  at  least  25 
per  cent  of  them  could  find  several  reasons  right  now  for  want¬ 
ing  their  credit  extended.  But  if  we  did  it,  you  can  see  that 
we  might  easily  be  in  serious  financial  straits.” 

Making  the  sale  is  really  only  half  of  the  transaction.  The 
other  half  is  collecting  the  money.  In  reality*  the  salesman’s 
value  to  the  house  is  determined  not  by  the  goods  he  sells,  but 


244 


PRINCIPLES  OF  SALESMANSHIP 


by  the  profits  made  on  the  sale  of  those  goods.  Credit  losses 
affect  him  as  much  as  they  do  the  firm.  Hence  the  futility  of 
the  ancient  feud  in  many  houses  between  salesmen  and  the 
credit  department,  and  hence  the  need  of  co-operation  between 
the  two.  The  best  salesmen  are  the  best  aids  to  the  collectors 
because  they  know  it  is  much  easier  to  sell  a  man  goods  when 
he  does  not  owe  the  house  than  when  he  is  about  two  drafts 
ahead  of  his  deposits.  High  costs  of  doing  business  and  close 
prices  due  to  keen  competition  do  not  permit  long-time  credits, 
as  the  salesman  should  realize  when  they  begin  to  feel  insulted 
because  the  credit  manager  refuses  to  extend  lengthy  credits 
to  their  customers.  Credit  is  a  great  thing  to  do  business  on. 
Some  credits  are  more  elastic  than  others,  but  they  all  have  a 
disastrous  snap-back  when  they  break.  Actually,  the  judicious 
credit  manager  is  a  real  friend  to  the  sales  department. 


CHAPTER  XXI 


THE  KNOWLEDGE  THAT  GIVES  BREADTH 

The  Growing  Importance  of  the  Man  Who  Knows. — The 

importance  of  knowing  one’s  goods  is  now  so  universally  recog¬ 
nized  that  no  firm  of  any  standing  would  send  a  man  out  pre¬ 
pared  in  the  old-fashioned  way — furnished  merely  with  a  grip 
and  primed  with  answers  to  a  few  likely  questions.  Today  the 
engagement  of  an  outside  man  is  never  for  a  moment  consid¬ 
ered  by  manufacturers  or  wholesale  dealers,  unless  he  is  either 
experienced  in  a  firm’s  particular  line,  or  unless  the  organiza¬ 
tion  is  equipped  to  put  him  through  a  comprehensive  training 
course.  Moreover,  all  department  stores  of  the  first  rank  and 
many  less  important  retail  houses  now  maintain  schools  of 
salesmanship.  These  retail  houses  also  encourage  their  em¬ 
ployees  to  study  their  goods  during  leisure  hours,  providing 
them  with  literature  which  describes  the  origin  of  their  wares 
and  the  process  of  manufacture  involved. 

No  matter  whether  a  salesman  is  selling  on  the  road  or 
behind  the  counter,  he  needs  a  fund  of  information  about  the 
goods  he  handles.  In  salesmanship  ignorance  is  the  greatest 
of  all  crimes  of  omission.  The  man  who  is  in  daily  contact 
with  certain  kinds  of  goods  and  is  continually  handling  them 
may  at  any  time  be  asked  a  question  about  them  which  is  quite 
remote  from  his  selling  task.  The  fact  that  he  is  in  charge 
of  their  sale  presupposes  that  he  knows  more  about  them  than 
the  average  person.  When  he  is  forced  to  show  his  ignorance 
by  such  an  answer  as,  “I  don’t  know,”  he  fails  to  impress 
others  as  a  person  of  intelligence  and  suffers  in  their  estimation. 


245 


246 


PRINCIPLES  OF  SALESMANSHIP 


His  firm,  as  well  as  he  himself,  loses  their  confidence  in  some 
degree. 

Necessity  of  Knowledge. — Much  of  the  knowledge  that  is 
an  essential  part  of  every  salesman’s  work  is  of  such  an  obvious 
nature  as  to  merit  no  more  than  passing  comment.  Knowl¬ 
edge  of  his  goods  and  of  the  trade  he  represents  may  be  taken 
for  granted.  In  addition,  the  house  will  furnish  him  with 
the  instructions  needed  for  making  out  an  order  and  will  post 
him  regarding  methods  of  shipment,  terms  of  payment,  house 
reports,  and  so  on.  This  information  varies,  since  every  busi¬ 
ness  has  its  own  rules  and  observances.  Every  important  firm 
makes  a  point  of  furnishing  its  representatives  with  funda¬ 
mental  information  relating  to  the  goods,  the  firm,  and  their 
territory.  To  fail  to  do  this  would  be  lacking  in  foresight. 

But  in  addition  to  the  knowledge  that  is  peculiar  to  his 
particular  business,  there  is  a  fund  of  more  or  less  valuable 
information  which  every  salesman  needs  to  acquire,  if  he  is 
to  impress  his  customers  as  a  person  of  more  than  average 
intelligence  and  education.  The  higher  rungs  of  the  ladder  of 
salesmanship  can  be  attained  only  by  the  men  who  have  this 
intelligence.  To  succeed  in  any  walk  of  life  a  man  must  first 
have  ability  and  character;  but  though  he  possesses  both  in  a 
high  degree,  he  will  be  outstripped  in  the  race  for  success  by 
the  man  who,  in  addition  to  character  and  ability,  also  knows. 
The  man  who  knows  must  have  made  a  conscious  effort  to 
acquire  his  knowledge. 

Knowledge  of  the  Firm  and  Its  History _ First  on  the 

list,  if  not  first  in  importance,  in  every  salesman’s  store  of 
information  is  a  knowledge  of  the  history,  the  policy,  and  the 
personnel  of  the  house  he  represents. 

A  wholesale  salesman  employed  by  a  large  corporation  has 
been  known  to  set  out  not  knowing  even  the  name  of  its  presi- 


THE  KNOWLEDGE  THAT  GIVES  BREADTH 


247 


dent.  This  was  of  course  a  careless  lack  of  preparation.  Every 
salesman  should  learn  the  history  of  his  firm,  the  names  of  its 
personnel,  what  the  different  departments  are,  their  relations 
to  each  other,  the  names  of  the  heads  of  the  different  depart¬ 
ments,  and  so  on.  He  is  constantly  meeting  people  who  are 
acquainted  with  or  have  had  previous  dealings  with  the  house. 
When  they  mention  the  name  of  someone  connected  with  it. 
or  an  important  fact  about  its  history  with  which  the  salesman 
is  unfamiliar,  he  is  placed  in  an  embarrassing  position. 

Knowledge  of  Processes  of  Manufacture. — In  the  sale  of 
certain  products  a  knowledge  of  the  processes  of  manufacture 
is  essential.  In  such  cases  representatives  are  not  permitted 
to  approach  customers  until  they  have  served  an  apprenticeship 
in  the  factory,  frequently  receiving  a  preliminary  training  in 
every  department  of  the  business  before  they  are  sent  out  to 
sell.  Salesmen  who  rise  high  in  their  calling  are  invariably 
those  who,  in  addition  to  a  carefully  cultivated  aptitude  for 
selling  goods,  have  acquired  technical  knowledge  which  equips 
them  to  meet  on  an  equal  footing  the  technically  educated  buyer. 
A  salesman  who  wishes  to  advance  rapidly  is  well  advised  to 
combine  with  his  knowledge  of  salesmanship  the  study  of  at 
least  one  technical  subject  in  the  larger  field  of  their  trade. 
This  combination  will  insure  a  much  more  lucrative  position  if 
the  knowledge  relates  to  a  prosperous  and  commanding  trade. 

The  Expert  Knowledge  Demanded  by  a  Motor  Truck 
Concern. — A  well-known  motor  truck  house  insists  that  its 
salesmen  study  the  technicalities  of  haulage  and  construction — 
not  because  this  knowledge  is  needed  as  part  of  a  sales  talk, 
but  because  it  is  useful  in  order  to  obtain  maximum  results  in 
sales.  Motor  trucks  are  frequently  sold  to  men  in  possession 
of  a  technical  knowledge  of  their  construction,  who  have  given 
close  study  to  the  subject  of  efficient  haulage.  The  salesman 


248 


PRINCIPLES  OF  SALESMANSHIP 


must  be  ready  to  meet  and  to  sell  to  these  technically  trained 
minds.  Long  hauls,  short  hauls,  constant  loads,  varying  loads, 
hilly  country,  city  traffic,  and  a  hundred  and  one  other  consid¬ 
erations,  all  enter  into  the  choice  of  a  commercial  vehicle.  The 
man  who  is  about  to  invest  in  an  expensive  fleet  of  motor 
trucks  has  to  be  shown  how  he  can  get  the  most  for  his  money, 
and  this  means  that  the  salesman  must  be  familiar  with  all  the 
intricate  workings  of  a  delivery  or  a  transportation  system. 

School  of  Salesmanship  for  Specialty  Selling _ Certain 

specialty  houses  which  rely  largely  on  the  efforts  of  salesmen 
and  whose  specialty  is  a  more  or  less  complicated  product, 
maintain  schools  of  salesmanship  in  which  every  budding  rep¬ 
resentative  is  carefully  trained  in  the  art  of  demonstrating  his 
specialty  and  in  answering  the  objections  of  buyers.  If,  for 
example,  a  piece  of  mechanism  or  an  office  appliance  needs  to 
be  explained,  the  salesman  must  study  and  handle  it  until  he 
thoroughly  grasps  its  working.  He  is  drilled  in  the  demon¬ 
stration  of  the  product  until  he  is  familiar  with  its  every  detail. 

This  preparatory  work  is  often  carried  a  degree  further. 
A  class  of  instruction  is  formed,  and  each  salesman  in  turn 
has  to  make  a  demonstration  sale  while  the  instructor  or  one 
of  the  pupils  acts  as  the  customer.  The  value  of  this  drill 
cannot  be  overestimated.  The  salesman  works  under  the  critical 
eye  of  onlookers,  who  are  ready  to  point  out  his  weaknesses  and 
to  correct  undesirable  mannerisms  of  diction  or  of  bearing. 

When  the  man  selling  a  specialty  has  no  opportunity  of 
going  through  a  comprehensive  course  of  instruction,  he  should 
take  special  pains  to  deliver  his  sales  talk  and  make  an  actual 
demonstration  of  his  methods  to  his  friends  with  a  view  to 
friendly  criticism  and  the  eradication  of  defects. 

Special  Knowledge  of  Goods. — Before  considering  the 
general  fund  of  knowledge  which  every  salesman  should  pos- 


THE  KNOWLEDGE  THAT  GIVES  BREADTH 


249 


sess,  let  us  consider  what  should  be  his  special  knowledge  of 
his  goods  other  than  that  which  is  furnished  him  by  the  house 
he  represents.  He  must,  of  course,  be  familiar  with  prices 
and  be  able  to  quote  them  without  referring  to  a  price  book, 
unless  there  are  hundreds  of  different  items  on  his  list.  This 
information  wins  the  buyer’s  respect  and  is  the  first  distin¬ 
guishing  mark  of  the  expert.  He  should  also  be  able  to  explain 
fully  what  his  goods  will  do — whether  performances  relate  to 
service,  durability,  or  any  other  striking  record.  Instances  of 
customers  with  well-known  names  who  have  bought  the  product 
and  secured  good  results  from  it  are  also  useful  knowledge. 

One  typewriter  salesman,  for  example,  makes  a  point  of 
memorizing  the  time  of  various  speed  contests  in  which  his 
machine  has  won  prizes  at  mercantile  exhibitions.  He  uses 
this  information,  which  at  first  view  does  not  seem  to  be  of 
much  interest  or  value  to  a  business  man,  in  order  to  prove 
the  truth  of  his  statements  about  the  reliability  of  his  machine. 

In  the  same  way  the  automobile  salesman  is  usually  familiar 
with  the  cost  of  operation  and  superiority  of  certain  points  of 
construction  in  the  car  he  handles,  and  he  also  has  at  his  finger 
ends  instances  of  long  service  secured  by  users  of  the  car. 

Facts  such  as  these,  although  they  may  not  be  useful  in 
every  sale,  will  sooner  or  later  prove  their  value  in  particular 
cases. 

The  Special  Knowledge  of  the  Expert. — Much  more  than 
a  knowledge  of  grades  and  prices  and  a  perfect  acquaintance 
with  the  talking  points  of  one’s  goods  is  desirable  when  selling 
certain  materials  for  manufacturing  purposes.  A  successful 
cotton  salesman,  for  example,  has  built  up  for  himself  such  a 
reputation  as  an  expert  that  all  the  business  he  can  take  care 
of  comes  to  him  over  the  telephone.  Customers  know  that  his 
judgment  as  to  the  fitness  of  various  kinds  of  cotton  for  certain 
work  is  to  be  relied  upon.  When  he  advises  them  to  buy 


250 


PRINCIPLES  OF  SALESMANSHIP 


because  the  price  is  likely  to  advance,  they  act  upon  his  sug¬ 
gestion.  He  is  constantly  being  referred  to  because  of  his 
knowledge  of  statistics  in  the  cotton  market.  He  knows  what 
affects  the  quality  of  cotton  and  understands  the  advantages 
of  one  kind  over  another  for  every  process  of  manufacture. 
If  a  customer  tells  him  for  what  purpose  the  cotton  is  needed, 
his  judgment  as  to  the  kind  best  suited  for  the  purpose  can 
be  relied  on.  Years  of  patient  study  combined  with  observation 
carried  on  with  analytical  minuteness  has  made  him  an  expert 
in  the  cotton  trade. 

A  rubber  salesman  attributes  his  success  to  his  all-round 
knowledge  of  the  industry.  He  can  unerringly  appraise  the 
value  of  any  goods  by  the  use  of  a  pocket  magnifying  glass. 
He  knows  the  market  conditions  of  all  ingredients  used  in  the 
manufacture  of  the  product  he  handles,  so  that  he  can  estimate 
the  effect  on  prices  of  a  rise  or  fall  in  the  price  of  sulphur  or 
some  other  material  used  in  rubber  manufacture. 

The  really  big,  successful  salesmen  of  raw  supplies  are 
actually  market  and  produce  experts.  Manufacturers,  and  to 
a  less  extent  retailers,  buy  their  judgment  and  knowledge  when 
they  buy  the  goods  they  have  to  offer.  A  salesman  whose 
knowledge  of  the  industry  with  which  he  is  connected  is  defi¬ 
cient  in  any  way  is  sharply  limited  in  his  earning  power  and 
almost  certainly  fails  to  rise  to  an  executive  position  of  any 
importance. 

Knowledge  of  Competing  Goods. — The  study  of  any 
industry  must  also  include  a  knowledge  of  rival  firms  and  their 
goods.  A  careful  study  of  competing  goods  and  methods 
enables  the  salesman  to  compare  his  own  merchandise  and 
methods  with  those  of  competitors.  When  a  favorable  com¬ 
parison  can  be  made  diplomatically,  he  can  bring  out  adequately 
the  strong  points  of  his  own  line.  When  he  notes  competing 
goods  or  methods  that  are  superior  to  his  own,  part  of  his  dut} 


THE  KNOWLEDGE  THAT  GIVES  BREADTH 


251 


is  to  call  the  attention  of  his  firm  to  the  matter  with  a  view 
to  the  improvement  of  its  methods.  Many  valuable  sugges¬ 
tions  of  this  kind  are  frequently  received  from  salesmen,  and 
obviously  the  man  who  is  most  likely  to  make  them  is  the  man 
who  is  always  studying  and  learning. 

The  comprehensive  knowledge  referred  to  in  preceding 
sections  is  less  vital  in  the  sale  of  certain  specialties  where  the 
element  of  competition  is  not  to  be  feared.  For  instance,  the 
adding  machine  salesman  does  not  need  to  be  equipped  with  a 
knowledge  of  factory  processes  and  sources  of  raw  materials; 
but  he  must  be  thoroughly  familiar  with  every  possible  use  of 
his  device ;  he  must  be  able  to  show  the  prospect  how  to  derive 
the  most  benefit  from  its  employment;  and  he  must  be 
acquainted  with  the  limitations  and  the  merits  of  competing 
devices. 

An  adding  machine  salesman,  when  requesting  an  interview 
for  the  purpose  of  demonstrating  his  machine,  was  met  with 
the  statement  that  the  firm  approached  was  considering  the 
purchase  of  a  certain  make  of  typewriter  to  which  an  adding 
mechanism  is  attached.  Not  being  familiar  with  this  office 
device,  the  salesman  was  completely  nonplused  and  was  unable 
to  point  out  why  his  own  machine  should  be  bought  in  pre 
ference  to  the  combination  device. 

Knowledge  for  the  Retail  Salesperson. — Among  retail 
salespeople  lack  of  knowledge  of  the  goods  is  unfortunately 
the  general  rule.  Of  course  it  is  hardly  practicable  for  them 
to  have  the  thorough  acquaintance  with  the  various  articles 
they  handle  which  is  usually  possessed  by  the  wholesale  sales¬ 
man,  since  the  latter  has  probably  spent  years  in  studying  his 
line  and  learning  everything  of  value  about  it.  But  the  clerk 
who  is  interested  and  wishes  to  succeed  in  his  work  is  anxious 
to  acquire  something  more  than  a  superficial  knowledge  of  the 
merchandise  he  handles.  As  emphasized  in  the  chapter  on 


252 


PRINCIPLES  OF  SALESMANSHIP 


“Retail  Satisfaction”  (XIX),  he  should  be  in  a  position  to 
answer  every  probable  question  and  should  always  be  able  to 
volunteer  information  as  to  why  one  kind  of  article  is  prefer¬ 
able  to  another  for  a  given  purpose. 

Sources  of  Information. — Useful  technical  information 
can  be  gained  by  the  study  of  manufacturers’  advertisements 
in  trade  journals  and  other  magazines,  by  reading  the  book¬ 
lets  which  many  large  concerns  publish  about  manufacturing 
processes  and  methods,  and  by  talking  with  the  salesman  who 
calls  at  the  store.  The  representative  of  the  manufacturer  is 
usually  willing  and  glad  to  give  information  about  the  goods 
he  handles  to  the  retail  salesman  who  is  sufficiently  interested 
to  ask  for  it. 

Another  convenient  source  of  information  regarding  the 
manufacture  of  almost  any  product  is  an  encyclopedia.  The 
salesman  who  is  keenly  anxious  to  take  an  intelligent  interest 
in  his  merchandise  cannot  do  better  than  to  build  up  a  funda¬ 
mental  groundwork  of  information  by  studying  this  valuable 
reference  work  from  time  to  time.  If  he  wishes  to  go  deeper 
into  the  study  of  a  technical  subject,  a  public  library  will  as  a 
rule  offer  him  as  assortment  of  books  which  will  describe  in 
greater  detail  every  phase  of  manufacture  and  production. 
Business  magazines  and  the  trade  journals  of  his  calling  should 
be  subscribed  to  and  read  as  regularly  as  he  reads  his  news¬ 
paper.  The  retail  clerk  should  bear  in  mind  that  if,  in  addition 
to  proving  his  ability  as  a  salesman,  he  combines  with  this  a 
comprehensive  knowledge  of  certain  kinds  of  goods,  he  is 
just  the  type  of  man  every  manufacturer  of  these  particular 
lines  is  in  search  of  when  in  need  of  recruits  for  his  own 
sales  force.  Thus  some  of  the  most  successful  salesmen 
on  the  road  have  risen  from  the  ranks  of  retail  salesmen  pri¬ 
marily  through  their  broad  knowledge  of  the  merchandise  they 
handle. 


THE  KNOWLEDGE  THAT  GIVES  BREADTH 


253 


The  Acquirement  of  Knowledge  Is  Always  Worth 
While. — A  young  salesman  in  charge  of  a  sporting  goods  store 
became  interested  in  firearms  and  began  to  study  the  history  of 
their  development.  The  more  he  studied,  the  more  fascinated 
with  the  subject  he  became. 

It  may  here  be  parenthetically  remarked  that  one  can  begin 
the  study  of  anything  with  the  feeling  that  the  task  is  likely 
to  be  irksome  and  disagreeable.  But  little  by  little  as  one 
acquires  knowledge  the  task  becomes  less  and  less  irksome 
until  the  study  of  a  subject  which  formerly  proved  tedious 
and  required  an  effort  of  will  becomes  a  positive  pleasure. 

The  salesman  soon  began  to  collect  old  arms  and  weapons, 
and  he  never  lost  an  opportunity  to  study  the  mechanism  of 
modern  guns  and  firearms.  Such  eventually  became  his  en¬ 
thusiasm  that  for  an  hour  or  two  he  could  narrate  facts  and 
details  about  his  specialty  which  were  intensely  interesting  to 
the  uninitiated  listener. 

One  day  he  chanced  to  broach  his  pet  subject  to  a  customer, 
who  remained  listening  to  him  for  over  half  an  hour  in  the 
store.  At  the  close  of  the  interview  the  customer  asked  the 
salesman  if  he  would  be  willing  to  talk  on  the  subject  of  fire¬ 
arms  at  a  forthcoming  church  club  meeting.  Consent  was 
gladly  given,  though  the  salesman  was  a  little  diffident  as  to 
his  ability  to  interest  an  audience  for  any  length  of  time. 

Much  to  his  surprise  the  talk  proved  highly  successful  and 
led  to  several  other  invitations  to  speak  on  the  same  subject. 
A  manufacturer  of  sporting  rifles  and  ammunition  heard  of 
this  young  retail  salesman  who  so  thoroughly  knew  his  goods 
and  invited  him  to  the  factory.  Impressed  with  the  salesman’s 
knowledge  and  the  clearness  with  which  he  expressed  himself, 
the  manufacturer  offered  him  a  position  in  the  factory  with 
the  prospect  of  becoming  assistant  sales  manager.  The  offer 
was  promptly  accepted.  Today  that  salesman  is  drawing  a 
handsome  salary  as  sales  manager  of  a  large  house. 


254 


PRINCIPLES  OF  SALESMANSHIP 


Sooner  or  later  the  man  who  takes  the  trouble  to  acquire 
more  than  the  average  knowledge  about  his  business  finds 
bigger  responsibilities  thrust  upon  him.  The  salesman  who 
fails  to  learn  because  be  sees  no  opportunity  to  use  the  know¬ 
ledge  which  he  might  acquire,  or  who  studies  only  because 
such  knowledge  is  essential  in  his  every-day  work,  remains  in 
the  ranks  of  mediocrity. 

The  Retail  Salesman  Must  Know  His  Stock. — To  turn 

from  the  general  to  the  particular,  the  fact  hardly  seems  to 
need  emphasis  that  a  retail  salesman  must  have  a  thorough 
knowledge  of  his  stock.  Yet  in  every  big  department  store, 
when  something  is  asked  for  that  is  a  little  out  of  the  way  or 
in  little  demand,  one  is  frequently  confronted  with  a  preplexed 
salesperson  who  is  not  quite  sure  whether  that  particular  thing 
is  carried  in  stock  and  replies,  “I  must  ask  the  buyer.”  Sales¬ 
people  of  this  type  do  not  utilize  their  spare  moments  profitably 
by  studying  and  arranging  their  stock.  In  some  cases  they 
do  not  always  know  the  different  styles  and  sizes  of  goods  nor 
can  they  place  their  hands  on  them  immediately  when  wanted. 
A  demand  for  a  certain  article  may  necessitate  an  embarrassing 
search  through  the  shelves.  The  salesperson  who  lacks  the 
small  amount  of  interest  to  learn  thoroughly  the  kinds  and 
sizes  of  the  stock  on  hand  will  rarely  develop  that  additional 
interest  which  leads  to  a  store  of  interesting  and  exceptional 
knowledge. 

Knowledge  Helps  to  Make  Sales  Talk  Interesting. — The 

more  interestingly  a  salesman  can  talk  about  his  goods,  the 
easier  it  becomes  to  turn  the  customer’s  interest  into  desire.  A 
fund  of  interesting  facts  is  to  be  found  in  the  history  of  every 
product.  The  furniture  salesman  who  knows  whence  such 
names  as  Adams,  Puritan,  Colonial,  Chippendale,  Sheraton, 
and  Mission  are  derived  and  what  they  stand  for,  and  who  can 


THE  KNOWLEDGE  THAT  GIVES  BREADTH  255 

detect  the  spurious  and  the  sham,  is  obviously  of  much  greater 
value  to  his  employer,  and  has  a  much  greater  chance  of  rising 
to  an  executive  position,  than  the  man  whose  knowledge  is 
limited  to  the  fact  that  a  certain  pattern  is  of  such  and  such 
a  wood  and  style  and  sells  for  a  certain  price.  The  furniture 
trade  affords  an  opportunity  for  the  study  of  art  in  one  of  its 
most  attractive  forms.  The  salesman  might  supplement  his 
knowledge  of  furniture  by  the  study  of  decoration,  wallpapers, 
color  schemes,  paints,  varnishes,  and  everything  incidental  to 
the  embellishment  and  decoration  of  the  home.  From  the 
simple  beginning  of  studying  different  styles  of  furniture  to 
a  fund  of  knowledge  sufficiently  complete  to  build  up  a  reputa¬ 
tion  as  an  expert  in  interior  decoration  may  seem  a  far  cry; 
but  the  salesman  who  utilizes  his  spare  moments  and  leisure 
hours  for  the  acquirement  of  knowledge  of  this  kind  will  find 
it  a  most  fascinating  and  absorbing  study.  The  man  who 
becomes  absorbed  in  any  study  soon  becomes  an  expert. 

What  applies  to  furniture  is  applicable  to  the  sale  of  every 
other  product  which  is  of  sufficient  dignity  and  importance  to 
need  the  services  of  intelligent  salesmanship. 

The  Use  of  Eyes  and  Ears  in  Acquiring  Knowledge. — 

The  emphasis  so  far  laid  upon  study  as  a  means  of  acquiring 
knowledge  may  create  an  erroneous  impression.  While  the 
acquisition  of  information  that  is  stored  in  the  pages  of  books 
or  periodicals  is  important,  one  must  not  overlook  the  fact 
that  the  eyes  and  ears  are  useful  teachers.  The  salesman  on 
the  road,  for  instance,  is  constantly  meeting  interesting  people 
who  have  valuable  information  to  impart.  The  opportunity 
is  always  present,  if  he  is  alert,  to  pick  up  new  ideas,  from  either 
his  own  or  another  trade,  which  with  a  little  adaptation  can  be 
utilized  by  his  house;  or  if  his  own  house  cannot  profit  from 
the  ideas  its  customers  will  probably  be  able  to  do  so. 

The  salesman  who  keeps  his  eyes  and  ears  open  in  order 


256 


PRINCIPLES  OF  SALESMANSHIP 


to  find  out  and  study  how  the  most  successful  men  in  his  trade 
carry  on  their  business  is  frequently  able  to  give  his  customers 
advice  and  suggestions  that  are  of  real  value.  He  learns,  for 
example,  of  a  successful  selling  plan  used  in  one  store,  a  time¬ 
saving  accounting  system  in  another,  or  the  successful  adver¬ 
tising  of  a  third.  He  takes  careful  note  of  the  matter  and  then 
he  passes  on  this  information  to  those  customers  whom  he 
thinks  most  able  to  utilize  it. 

Knowledge  a  Common  Bond. — No  matter  in  what  capacity 
a  man  may  be  employed,  his  special  knowledge  can  never  be 
accurate  and  complete  enough  nor  his  general  knowledge  too 
extensive.  The  salesman’s  work  necessitates  meeting  both 
the  expert  who  knows  all  that  is  to  be  known  about  a  particular 
subject  and  people  who  will  talk  to  him  on  matters  of  general 

interest  or  discuss  with  him  current  events.  We  all  like  to  be 

> 

able  to  show  an  intelligent  interest  in  any  general  subject  and 
to  have  at  least  some  acquaintance  with  the  principles  of  the 
arts  and  the  elementary  facts  relating  to  the  sciences.  The 
acquisition  of  such  knowledge  as  this  is  not,  of  course,  a 
peculiar  requisite  of  a  salesman,  but  it  is  advantageous  for 
any  man  who  earns  his  living  by  means  of  his  brain.  The 
salesman  more  than  most  men,  however,  needs  to  round  out 
his  expert  knowledge  with  a  fund  of  general  information. 


CHAPTER  XXII 


TYPES  OF  CUSTOMERS 

Studying  the  Buyer. — The  necessity  of  understanding  the 
buyer  as  well  as  the  commodity  has  been  suggested  several 
times  in  the  course  of  this  text.  But  now  it  should  be  clear 
that  the  methods  of  securing  favorable  attention,  arousing 
interest,  creating  desire,  and  inducing  action  all  require  handling 
in  close  accordance  with  the  idiosyncrasies  and  predominating 
tendencies  of  the  person  with  whom  the  salesman  is  engaged. 

Natural  Adaptation  to  the  Customer’s  Mood _ The  rea¬ 

son  why  the  salesman  needs  to  study  the  characteristics  of  his 
customer  is  that  he  must  be  able  to  adapt  his  manner  to  that 
of  his  customer,  so  that  the  interview  may  proceed  pleasantly 
and  speedily. 

“But  is  not  this  merely  sinking  one’s  personality;  is  it  not 
merely  conforming  to  another’s  whim  so  as  to  get  business?” 
Some  such  objection  as  this  may  occur  to  the  conscientious 
salesman  who  wises  to  retain  “the  dignity  of  his  personality.” 
Of  course,  no  one  has  respect  for  a  jellyfish,  yet  fitting  oneself 
into  the  mood  of  the  customer  does  not  imply  lack  of  backbone, 
but  rather  a  nice  discernment  and  tact. 

Indeed,  one  naturally  conforms  to  the  individualities  and 
attitudes  of  friends  and  acquaintances  in  social  life,  whether 
in  reproducing  their  moods  or  in  assuming  one  that  is  respon¬ 
sive  and  sympathetic,  though  not  by  any  means  identical.  A 
married  man  presents  an  entirely  different  phase  of  his  per¬ 
sonality  to  his  wife  from  that  which  he  uses  toward  his  ten- 


257 


PRINCIPLES  OF  SALESMANSHIP 


258 

year-old  son,  and  displays  yet  another  to  his  business  associates 
in  the  office,  and  still  a  fourth  to  casual  acquaintances. 

What  people  do  with  no  conscious  effort,  the  salesman 
should  do  with  skill  and  understanding,  not  affectedly,  but  with 
the  sincere  desire  for  friendly,  sympathetic,  and  serviceable 
relations. 

The  Effect  of  Temperament  on  the  Customer’s  Attitude. 

— Different  persons,  though  appealed  to  in  the  same  manner, 
vary  widely  in  their  actions,  according  to  their  personal  pecu¬ 
liarities  and  temperaments.  One  retail  merchant,  for  instance, 
may  be  cautious  and  deliberate,  another  nervous  and  irritable, 
a  third  genial  yet  capricious.  Every  one  of  these  is  actuated 
in  buying  by  the  same  motives  and  is  interested  in  the  offer 
for  the  same  reason — to  resell  at  a  profit.  Their  general  mental 
attitude  toward  the  salesman  is  the  same.  Yet  each  of  them 
is  influenced  differently  by  the  arguments  presented;  they  view 
the  offer  from  different  angles,  because  their  temperaments 
or  dispositions  color  their  views. 

Argument  Adapted  to  Temperament. — While  these  dif¬ 
ferences  in  temperament  do  not  greatly  influence  the  primary 
buying  motive,  yet  the  salesman’s  manner  and  method  must 
both  be  modified  to  suit  the  customer’s  type.  Occasionally 
it  may  be  necessary  to  appeal  to  a  second  and  a  third  motive 
because  of  their  influence  upon  a  particular  temperament. 

For  example,  a  nervous,  fussy  hardware  dealer,  who 
inspects  every  detail  of  a  new  offer  and  needs  to  be  reassured 
upon  every  point,  might  be  influenced  in  his  final  decision  to 
buy  if  he  were  informed  that  such  an  article  as  shade  rollers 
would  be  packed  with  screws  and  thus  be  all  ready  for  resale, 
and  that  instructions  for  putting  up  the  roller  would  be  included 
in  each  package.  His  instinct  of  caution  is  appealed  to  when 
he  learns  that  he  is  to  be  relieved  of  the  trouble  of  counting 


TYPES  OF  CUSTOMERS 


259 

out  screws,  wrapping  the  rollers,  and  explaining  to  his 
customers  how  to  put  them  up. 

A  second  appeal  to  such  a  buyer’s  instinctive  caution  might 
be  made.  He  might  be  informed  that  the  company  represented 
by  the  salesman  paid  the  freight  and  would  grant  him  30  days’ 
credit — ample  time  in  which  to  open  and  check  up  the  goods. 
This  appeal  again  is  more  to  caution  than  to  the  desire  for  the 
profit  resulting  from  a  saving  in  freight  charges.  Further,  he 
might  be  given  a  written  guarantee  that  any  goods  returned  as 
faulty  would  be  promptly  replaced.  All  these  selling  arguments, 
directed  to  the  motive  of  caution,  would  be  much  more  potent 
in  their  appeal  to  this  type  of  customer  than  to  the  type  that 
considers  only  the  profit  on  any  transaction. 

An  Illustration  of  Varying  the  Method. — The  need  of 
varying  one  sales  argument  to  suit  different  temperaments  is 
illustrated  by  the  following  incident : 

A  budding  salesman  for  a  wholesale  dry  goods  house  was 
being  shown  “how  the  wheels  go  round”  by  one  of  the  older 
salesmen  representing  the  firm.  The  two  representatives  were 
received  with  a  warm,  friendly  greeting  at  almost  every  place 
of  call.  Buyers  were  well  acquainted  with  the  older  salesman; 
they  enjoyed  his  good-humored  geniality  and  his  intimate 
jocularity;  many  of  them  regarded  him  as  a  personal  friend. 
In  consequence  his  opening  greeting  in  almost  every  case  was 
that  of  a  man  on  a  familiar  footing,  who  feels  sure  of  his 
welcome. 

When  the  beginner  was  finally  left  to  his  own  resources 
he  came  to  the  conclusion  that  the  “hail-fellow-well-met”  atti¬ 
tude  was  the  proper  one  with  which  to  approach  his  trade.  The 
first  buyer  he  called  on  belonged  to  the  genial  impulsive  type 
that  is  always  ready  to  meet  a  fellow  being  on  intimate  ground. 
The  next  customer  belonged  to  the  cold  and  calculating  type 
that,  as  a  rule,  resents  any  attempt  at  familiarity.  The  salesman 


26o 


PRINCIPLES  OF  SALESMANSHIP 


greeted  both  customers  jovially,  he  commented  on  the  weather, 
and  made  a  few  flippant  remarks  as  to  the  buyer’s  stock  and 
the  tastefulness  of  his  display.  The  easy  familiarity  of  the 
approach  caused  no  offense  in  the  first  case  and  appealed  to 
the  buyer’s  mood ;  the  same  approach  in  the  second  case  caused 
irritation. 

The  cold  and  calculating  buyer  wanted  to  hear  about  the 
salesman’s  offer.  He  was  anxious  to  decide  whether  the  goods 
were  worth  his  inspection  and  to  return  to  his  work  as  quickly 
as  possible.  So,  without  any  further  parley,  he  broke  in  irrita¬ 
bly  :  “Well,  tell  me  exactly  what  you  have  to  show.  Be  quick, 
please,  I’m  busy!” 

The  tone  of  voice  clearly  showed  that  he  was  intensely 
irritated — not  so  much  with  the  salesman  personally  as  with 
his  method.  Instead  of  cheerfully  apologizing  and  promptly 
showing  his  samples,  the  salesman  assumed  an  air  of  injured 
innocence  and  in  an  indifferent  mood  proceeded  to  display  his 
line.  The  interview  was  not  a  happy  one  and  was  soon  abruptly 
brought  to  a  close  by  the  impatient  buyer’s  deciding  that  he 
required  “nothing  at  all  today.”  He  had  invariably  given  a 
substantial  order  when  visited  by  the  older  salesman.  But  the 
inexperience  and  the  ill-judged  manner  of  the  young  salesman 
aroused  his  irritation  and  led  him  to  cancel  the  order  he  fully 
intended  to  give  to  the  house  with  which  he  had  so  long  done 
business. 

Variations  in  Individual  Mood  and  Temperament. — All 

of  us  are  subject  to  changes  of  mood;  health,  weather,  the 
work  immediately  in  hand,  private  or  business  conditions,  and 
the  like,  all  influence  our  feelings.  Even  in  a  few  moments  a 
man  changes  from  grave  to  gay,  from  pessimism  to  optimism, 
from  doubt  to  faith.  Often  enough  the  salesman  cannot  deter¬ 
mine  a  prospect’s  mood  until  the  interview  is  under  way,  yet 
in  the  majority  of  cases  he  can  gain  some  indication  or  sugges- 


TYPES  OF  CUSTOMERS 


261 

tion  of  the  general  temper  of  the  prospect  before  the  meeting 
and  when  he  is  preparing  his  campaign  in  the  preapproach.  If 
he  learns  that  a  person  is  changeable,  he  is  the  more  ready  to 
encounter  an  unusual  or  a  passing  mood,  he  is  prepared  to 
assume  the  task  of  tactfully  developing  in  that  prospect  the 
mood  that  is  best  adapted  to  the  sale.  On  the  other  hand,  if 
he  learns  that  the  prospect  is  always  the  same,  he  can  prepare 
a  sales  plan  suited  to  the  dominant  characteristics  of  that  pros¬ 
pect  with  the  assurance  that  a  sudden  change  of  method  will 
not  be  required,  so  that  he  is  at  liberty  to  work  out  the  details 
before  the  interview  occurs. 

While  detailed  rules  cannot  be  laid  down  regarding  the 
probable  mood  of  any  class  of  customers,  yet  certain  general 
tendencies  may  well  be  noted.  Impatience  or  nervousness  are 
to  be  expected  when  an  unusual  pressure  of  business  is  on  hand ; 
the  wholesale  salesman  avoids  occasions  of  this  kind  as  far 
as  possible,  planning  his  calls  so  as  not  to  conflict  with  the 
reading  of  mail,  dictation  of  letters,  or  other  scheduled  duties 
and  functions ;  the  specialty  salesman  in  his  preapproach  notes 
the  washing  day  and  cleaning  days  of  the  homes  at  which  he 
is  planning  to  call ;  the  retail  salesman  prepares  for  the  tension 
of  customers  at  special  sales  or  during  the  holiday  season.  So, 
too,  many  prospects  are  not  so  easily  handled  during  the  half- 
hour  that  precedes  their  accustomed  luncheon  time.  Persons 
subject  to  dyspepsia  or  to  severe  tension  of  business  or  private 
affairs  are  to  be  handled  with  special  consideration.  Local 
or  national  business  conditions  likewise  affect  the  moods  of 
many  people  not  directly  interested.  For  example,  during  hard 
times  even  teachers  and  other  salaried  folk  reflect  some  measure 
of  the  mercantile  depression. 

The  weak  salesman  finds  these  factors  an  excuse  for  post¬ 
poning  or  even  omitting  calls.  One  of  the  common  pleas  of  the 
half-hearted  specialty  salesman  is  “Monday  is  washday;  it’s 
no  use  trying  to  see  people  at  their  homes  then.”  But  he  over- 


262 


PRINCIPLES  OF  SALESMANSHIP 


looks  the  significant  fact  that  large  numbers  of  housewives  are 
in  the  habit  of  doing  this  work,  or  having  it  done,  on  some 
other  day.  In  any  neighborhood  where  that  salesman  may  be 
working  he  will  find  plenty  of  prospects  who  are  as  approach¬ 
able  on  Monday  as  on  any  other  day.  The  thoughtless  salesman 
is  likely  to  assume  that  the  hour  between  half-past  eight  and 
half-past  nine  is  unsuitable  for  office  calls  because  people  are 
then  reading  mail.  This,  too,  is  a  question  of  personal  custom; 
many  business  men  postpone  that  task  until  the  mail  has  been 
sorted  and  classified  for  them  by  a  secretary  or  a  stenographer ; 
with  them,  accordingly,  the  early  morning  hour  is  better  for 
the  salesman  than  a  late  one.  Luncheon  hours  vary  as  well, 
and  so  do  other  scheduled  tasks.  In  fact,  there  is  not  a  business 
hour  in  the  whole  day  when  prospects  cannot  be  found  in 
comparative  inactivity. 

Besides,  even  if  the  salesman  finds  that  he  confronts  a  pre¬ 
occupied  prospect,  he  must  none  the  less  be  able  to  handle 
the  situation.  Withdrawal  is  at  times  the  sole  resource,  but 
often  it  gives  an  impression  of  timidity;  a  direct  and  prompt 
statement  of  the  case  is  again  and  again  more  effective.  It  is 
just  in  circumstances  such  as  these  that  the  true  salesman 
manifests  himself  through  tact  and  adroit  business  acumen. 

The  Futility  of  Arbitrary  Classification. — An  attempt  to 

classify  every  buyer  as  belonging  to  some  arbitrary  and  definite 
type  is  valueless  for  the  reason  that  no  person  can  ever  be  said 
to  belong  wholly  to  one  particular  class.  Human  nature  is 
too  complex  and  variable.  There  are,  however,  certain  mental 
characteristics  that  are  significant  and  that  appear  in  some 
form  or  another  in  every  buyer,  such  as  caution  to  the  verge 
of  suspicion,  or  else  willingness  to  take  a  chance;  ability  or 
inability  to  concentrate;  enthusiasm  or  unemotional  stolidity; 
impatience  or  deliberation;  and  so  on.  Each  of  these  charac¬ 
teristics  has  its  contrasting  attribute.  A  method  or  manner 


TYPES  OF  CUSTOMERS  263 

of  presenting  the  offer  which  would  appeal  in  one  case  would 
often  prove  disastrous  when  used  with  a  contrasting  type. 

The  salesman  should  therefore  vary  his  manner  and  modify 
his  sales  talk  so  as  to  appeal  to  and  avoid  irritating  a  buyer’s 
peculiarities.  Nothing  in  his  method  of  presenting  the  argu¬ 
ments  should  irritate  the  customer.  This  does  not  imply  the 
ability  of  a  mind  reader  or  the  possession  of  “second  sight.” 
It  does,  however,  mean  that  the  powers  of  observation  must 
be  used  at  least  to  the  extent  of  “sizing”  up  the  customer  as 
fully  as  possible  both  in  the  preapproach  and  in  the  course  of 
the  interview.  Having  determined  that  the  buyer  possesses 
certain  characteristics  that  make  it  advisable  to  treat  him  in  a 
certain  way,  the  salesman  then  varies  his  method  accordingly. 

The  Easy-Going,  Good-Natured  Type  of  Buyer. — The 

salesman  will,  for  instance,  frequently  come  in  contact  with  the 
good-natured,  genial  sort  of  person  who  is  friendly  and  well 
disposed  to  all  the  world.  A  customer  of  this  class  is  as  a 
rule  easy  to  approach — especially  if  he  acts  in  the  capacity  of 
buyer  or  purchasing  agent.  If  he  has  any  time  on  his  hands 
and  if  it  is  possible  to  grant  an  interview,  he  will  do  so,  even 
though  the  salesman  may  be  unknown  to  him  and  he  does  not 
expect  that  the  proposition  will  be  worth  serious  consideration. 

The  manner  and  ease  with  which  such  a  type  is  approached 
should  not  make  the  salesman  jump  to  the  conclusion  that  it 
will  be  easy  to  secure  an  order.  The  natural  friendliness  of 
this  man’s  disposition  makes  him  greet  everybody  cordially, 
but  his  practical  business  sense,  which  is  presupposed  from  the 
position  he  holds,  will  cause  him  to  drive  a  keen  bargain  or  to 
postpone  action  if  he  thinks  he  has  anything  to  gain  thereby. 

In  approaching  such  a  type  the  salesman  will  naturally 
greet  him  on  exactly  the  same  footing  as  he  himself  is  greeted. 
Then  if  the  buyer  cannot  be  convinced  that  the  offer  is  a 
timely  one,  the  salesman  can  at  least  suggest  the  hope  of  better 


264  PRINCIPLES  OF  SALESMANSHIP 

results  in  the  future;  for  this  reason  he  will  persist  in  calling 
with  the  expectation  of  receiving  an  order.  Where  there  is 
little  to  choose  on  the  score  of  price,  quality,  and  terms  between 
the  goods  offered  and  those  of  competitors,  the  only  chance  of 
influencing  a  buyer  of  this  type  is  to  cultivate  friendly  rela¬ 
tions,  a  point  discussed  in  Chapter  XVIII. 

The  Cold,  Critical  Buyer. — The  cold  and  critical  customer 
is  in  direct  contrast  to  the  preceding  type.  His  usual  greeting 

is  curt  and  abrupt.  “Well  what  do  you  want?”  or  “What  have 

/ 

you  to  show  today?”  or  “I  have  little  time  to  spare — be  quick,” 
he  snaps  out.  His  manner  conveys  the  impression  that  the 
salesman  must  be  brief  about  his  business  if  the  offer  is  to 
receive  consideration. 

To  the  inexperienced  salesman  this  type  of  customer  is  dis¬ 
concerting.  It  should,  however,  be  remembered  that  if  the 
goods  are  what  is  claimed  for  them,  it  is  to  the  buyer’s  interest 
to  inspect  them  and  give  them  every  consideration.  Therefore 
the  salesman  should  not  allow  an  abrupt  manner  to  fluster  him 
in  any  way  or  to  curtail  the  proper  presentation  of  his  argument. 

When  samples  or  catalogs  are  displayed,  the  critical  type 
usually  avoids  making  any  favorable  comment  and  expresses 
himself  only  when  he  has  something  to  say  that  detracts  from 
the  value  of  the  goods.  It  is  impossible  to  work  him  up  to 
the  point  of  acknowledging  his  interest,  and  in  consequence 
the  salesman  is  frequently  at  a  loss  to  understand  what  impres¬ 
sion  his  sales  talk  is  making. 

In  handling  this  type  the  salesman  should  not  allow  his 
own  conviction  of  the  merit  of  his  offer  to  be  in  any  way 
shaken  by  the  customer’s  cold  and  cautious  attitude.  He  should 
go  straight  to  the  point,  giving  an  adequate  description  of  his 
goods,  with  earnestness,  but  without  any  open  expression  of 
enthusiasm.  A  reasoned  appeal  to  the  motive  of  profit,  which 
in  such  case  is  paramount,  is  usually  all  that  is  needed.  Finally 


TYPES  OF  CUSTOMERS 


265 


when  the  time  comes  to  close  the  sale,  he  should  express  his 
pent-up  enthusiasm  in  one  strong  blast  in  which  the  numerous 
advantages  of  the  offer  are  summed  up.  It  is  important  to 
impress  this  type  of  buyer  with  the  fact  that  the  salesmen’s 
opinion  of  the  goods  has  in  no  way  been  shaken  by  the  cus¬ 
tomer’s  indifference.  The  salesman  may  not  be  able  per¬ 
ceptibly  to  thaw  the  buyer  with  the  heat  of  his  own  enthusiasm, 
but  insensibly  his  earnest  belief  in  the  merit  of  the  offer  will 
produce  an  effect. 

Do  Not  Teach  the  Buyer  His  Own  Business _ A  word 

of  caution  is  necessary  in  regard  to  the  handling  of  the  cold 
and  critical  customer  just  mentioned.  When  approaching  a 
wholesale  buyer  or  a  purchasing  agent  of  this  type,  tact  is 
needed  to  guard  against  making  any  statement  which  may 
seem  to  imply  that  the  salesman  considers  that  he  has  a  greater 
knowledge  of  the  buyer’s  business  than  the  latter  himself  pos¬ 
sesses.  A  person  of  this  disposition  usually  resents  the  assump¬ 
tion  of  superior  knowledge  in  others.  A  further  mistake  is 
to  be  too  loquacious  and  to  insist  upon  explaining  something 
which  is  already  known  or  which  can  be  deduced. 

The  Self-Important  Type  of  Buyer — The  self-important 
type  of  customer  is  sure  to  be  met  with  in  the  course  of  the 
day’s  work  and  the  salesman’s  attitude  must  again  be  modified 
to  suit  this  characteristic.  This  type  can  often  be  recognized  by 
the  favorite  trick  of  keeping  the  salesman,  after  he  is  shown 
into  his  presence,  waiting  for  a  few  moments  while  he  attends 
to  an  apparently  important  but  probably  trivial  detail  of  work. 
Instead  of  presenting  the  argument  in  the  form  of  emphatic 
assertion,  supported  if  possible  by  proof — as  would  be  the 
logical  method  in  the  presence  of  a  man  who  is  cautious  and 
undecided — the  statements  should  be  turned  so  as  to  present 
them  in  the  form  of  queries  which  will  enable  the  buyer  to  air 


266 


PRINCIPLES  OF  SALESMANSHIP 


his  own  opinions.  When  these  opinions  run  counter  to  those 
of  the  salesman  the  customer  does  not  scruple  to  depreciate  the 
offer.  But  the  salesman  need  not  worry  much  about  this  in 
the  early  part  of  the  interview.  It  is  only  one  of  the  buyer’s 
little  ways. 

The  weak  place  in  the  armor  of  a  man  of  this  type  is  his 
conceit.  He  is  clever,  but  he  over-rates  his  own  ability.  When 
once  he  decides  that  a  thing  is  so,  the  matter  is  closed.  To 
question  the  correctness  of  his  decision  or  to  attempt  to  explain 
to  him  that  he  is  in  error  and  that  his  conclusions  are  mistaken, 
is  almost  fatal  to  a  sale. 

The  successful  handling  of  such  a  customer  largely  depends 
upon  the  skill  with  which  all  open  contradiction  is  avoided  and 
an  expression  of  his  own  opinion  secured,  as  to  points  which 
are  outside  of  controversy.  “What  is  your  opinion  of  this, 
Mr.  King?” ;  “I  should  like  to  know  whether  you  don’t  .  .  .  ?” 
— and  similar  queries  should  precede  all  the  claims  and  state¬ 
ments  made.  His  favorable  opinions  as  to  merits  of  the 
various  points  of  an  offer  can  often  be  extracted  in  this  way. 

When  the  proposition  is  such  that  a  decision  at  the  first 
interview  is  difficult  to  obtain,  the  self-important  type  of  buyer 
can  often  be  encouraged  to  come  to  the  point  if  addressed 
somewhat  as  follows : 

“Mr.  King,  I  know  from  experience  that  many  of  my 
customers  like  to  take  time  to  consider  this  matter.  But,  yon, 
I  believe,  can  tell  almost  at  a  glance  what  its  merits  really  are. 
You  are  the  sort  of  man  who  can  trust  his  own  judgment  and 
make  up  his  own  mind.  I  won’t  ask  you  to  take  time  in  order 
to  look  into  it — it  isn’t  necessary  in  your  case.  How  many 
dozen  will  you  require?” 

This  assumes,  what  is  usually  the  case,  that  the  buyer  is 
an  able  person,  capable  as  well  as  fond  of  forming  his  opinions 
with  as  little  suggestion  as  possible  from  others.  In  short, 
agree  with  this  buyer  whenever  possible,  ask  for  information 


TYPES  OF  CUSTOMERS 


267 


from  him  when  opportunity  offers,  convey  the  impression  that 
you  are  willing  to  learn  from  him,  and  then  if  he  can  give 
you  an  order  he  will  do  so.  But  aggravate  him  or  injure  his 
pride  and  whatever  the  merits  of  an  offer  he  will  be  blind  to 
them. 

Other  Types  of  Buyers. — It  would  be  possible  to  list  a 
number  of  widely  distinctive  types  and  to  suggest  different 
methods  of  treatment  in  each  case.  The  examples  given,  how¬ 
ever,  are  sufficient  to  indicate  various  methods  of  procedure. 

A  buyer  may  lean  rather  to  one  type  than  to  another  and 
yet  reveal  combination  of  several  characteristics.  The  method 
that  suits  a  particular  case  must  be  largely  what  is  indicated  by 
tact  and  common  sense.  When  certain  mental  characteristics 
are  revealed  in  a  pronounced  degree,  special  treatment  will 
naturally  suggest  itself.  This  chapter  will  serve  its  purpose  if 
the  salesman  will  remember  to  vary  his  methods  so  as  to  suit 
different  characteristics  and  thus  avoid  getting  into  a  rut,  as  he 
does  when  he  delivers  the  same  sales  talk  in  a  stereotyped  way. 


CHAPTER  XXIII 


CHARACTERISTIC  RETAIL  TYPES 

The  Occasion  for  the  Study  of  Retail  Types _ Most 

people  who  enter  a  retail  store  know  definitely  what  they  want 
to  buy;  the  majority  of  these  know  what  they  want  and  have 
an  equally  decided  idea  as  to  the  price  they  are  prepared  to  pay. 
The  housewife  who  comes  with  a  long  list  of  purchases,  the 
woman  who  is  looking  for  a  particular  garment,  or  the  girl 
who  is  choosing  a  hat  or  a  pair  of  shoes,  usually  knows  what 
she  wants  and  is  determined  to  find  it  even  if  she  must  inspect 
a  dozen  windows  or  almost  as  many  stores  before  she  discovers 
it.  Consequently,  it  is  not  so  essential  for  the  retail  salesperson 
to  be  able  to  read  character  or  to  vary  the  method  of  showing 
the  goods  when  dealing  with  persons  of  different  temperament, 
as  it  is  to  be  patient  and  courteous  and  to  wait  upon  customers 
with  a  sincere  desire  to  please.  A  sale  will  then  be  made  if 
the  goods  in  stock  are  those  that  the  customer  is  in  search  of. 

There  are,  however,  certain  types  of  shoppers  who  must  be 
handled  with  peculiar  tact  if  they  are  to  be  catered  to  success¬ 
fully  and  if  their  patronage  is  to  be  permanently  retained.  As' 
these  two  types  form  a  considerable  proportion  of  the  feminine 
shoppers  who  frequent  the  large  stores,  it  is  well  to  consider 
their  peculiarities  in  detail. 

The  Nervous,  Irritable,  Querulous  Shopper — This  type 

of  shoppers  is  not  infrequently  met  with,  especially  in  the  larger 
cities  where  wealth  and  fashion  holds  sway.  She  is  merely  a 
spoiled  child  in  adult  form  whose  every  whim  must  be  gratified 


268 


CHARACTERISTIC  RETAIL  TYPES 


269 


She  is  used  to  having  her  own  way,  used  to  being  waited  upon ; 
she  cannot  bear  opposition;  if  she  fails  to  find  exactly  what 
pleases  her  or  that  she  is  in  search  of — and  frequently  she  does 
not  know  what  she  wants — she  resents  the  fact  as  a  lack  of 
courtesy  on  the  part  of  the  store  and  the  salesperson  who 
represents  it.  Because  of  the  irritability  of  her  mental  outlook, 
when  she  enters  the  store  she  expects  to  receive  poor  service ; 
she  is  prepared  to  resent  it,  and  if  she  fails  to  receive  it,  will 
still  remain  querulous.  Her  request  to  be  shown  any  particular 
goods  is  usually  made  in  a  complaining  tone  of  voice.  When 
the  article  asked  for  is  submitted  for  her  approval  she  carefully 
inspects  it  in  search  of  faults  or  flaws.  If  no  blemish  can  be 
discovered  in  its  quality  or  style  then  she  either  says,  “This 
isn’t  just  what  I  want,”  or  she  begins  to  question  the  price, 
the  size,  or  what-not.  No  matter  what  might  be  shown  her 
she  would  still  have  some  complaint  to  make  and  under  no 
circumstances  would  she  express  her  complete  satisfaction. 

Handling  the  Querulous  Shopper. — It  is  human  nature  to 
feel  impatient  with  this  type  of  customer  and  to  experience  a 
lively  desire  to  give  her  a  good  shaking.  This  is  obviously  an 
emotion  that  the  salesperson  should  severely  restrain.  Often 
the  clerk  who  starts  out  with  an  earnest  desire  to  please  reveals 
indifference  to  the  requirements  of  such  a  customer  before  the 
sale  is  completed  and  forgets  that  polite  attention  to  a  cus¬ 
tomer’s  whims  should  in  all  circumstances  be  the  distinguish¬ 
ing  mark  of  the  efficient  salesperson. 

This  type  of  customer  can  be  successfully  catered  to  if  it 
is  remembered  that  her  mental  attitude  toward  the  store  and 
its  employees  is  not  personal  but  is  her  usual  demeanor  to 
mankind  at  large.  Therefore  no  resentment  should  be  revealed 
at  her  querulous  criticism ;  on  the  contrary  her  whims  must  be 
patiently  attended  to  as  forming  part  of  the  day’s  work.  All 
criticism  should  be  met  with  a  courteous  manner  and  without 


270 


PRINCIPLES  OF  SALESMANSHIP 


any  open  contradiction.  Prompt  and  intelligent  answers  should 
be  given  to  questions,  but  without  volunteering  information 
unless  desired.  The  salesperson  should  make  only  such  com¬ 
ments  as,  “This  color  matches  your  sample  exactly,  Madam,” 
or  “This  is  a  new  kind  of  cretonne,”  or  “This  serge  will  wear 
well  and  does  not  shine  readily.  ...”  No  direct  suggestions 
should  be  made  as  to  what  the  shopper  ought  to  buy.  It  will 
suffice  if  the  features  of  the  goods  are  explained  without  any 
attempt  to  influence  her  in  her  decision.  Any  advice  proffered 
invariably  arouses  impatience  and  a  desire  to  run  directly 
opposite  to  it — simply  out  of  contrariness. 

The  foregoing  analysis,  of  course,  presents  an  extreme  case. 
The  type  varies  from  the  extreme  whom  nothing  can  please, 
to  the  much  milder  type  who  is  merely  slightly  querulous  and 
whose  manner  is  occasionally  illumined  with  moments  of 
reasonableness.  One  and  all,  however,  offer  an  unrivaled  op¬ 
portunity  to  school  oneself  in  the  art  of  perfect  self-control. 
If  the  salesperson  refrains  from  revealing  the  slightest  im¬ 
patience  and  shows  that  even  the  patronage  of  the  customer 
who  is  crotchety  and  hard  to  please  is  appreciated  by  the  store, 
if  a  willingness  is  also  revealed  to  show  everything  in  stock  that 
in  any  way  suits  her  requirements,  even  a  customer  of  extreme 
mental  irritability  will  begin  to  feel  that  at  last  she  has  dis¬ 
covered  that  ideal  salesperson  who  really  “understands  her,” 
and  then  the  sale  will  be  made.  What  is  more,  many  repeat 
orders  will  probably  follow. 

The  Irresolute,  Garrulous  Shopper. — This  type  of  woman 
loves  to  shop.  She  is  happy  in  wandering  through  department 
stores  looking  for  bargains.  She  may  start  her  day’s  trip  with 
a  list  of  half  a  dozen  things  required  and  return  home  with  a 
score  or  more  of  purchases  to  her  credit — if  she  can  afford 
such  expenditure.  Because  she  enjoys  the  excitement  of  shop¬ 
ping  she  does  not  readily  come  to  a  decision,  although  she 


CHARACTERISTIC  RETAIL  TYPES 


271 


quickly  reveals  enthusiasm  when  anything  is  shown  that  is  to 
her  liking.  When,  however,  the  salesman  gets  out  his  sales 
slip  preparatory  to  taking  her  order  she  begins  to  wonder 
whether  something  she  inspected  elsewhere  would  not  be 
better  suited  for  her  purpose.  The  more  articles  she  has  to 
choose  from,  the  more  difficult  it  becomes  for  her  to  make  up 
her  mind;  yet  she  will  continue  to  inspect  goods  as  long  as  the 
salesman  is  willing  to  pile  them  on  the  counter. 

The  salesman  who  leaves  the  decision  wholly  to  this  type 
of  customer  spend  many  fruitless  hours  in  searching  for  just 
the  offering  that  will  satisfy  her  whims  in  every  way.  Wholly 
different  tactics  must  be  applied.  Instead  of  allowing  her  to 
decide  of  her  own  free  will,  as  in  the  case  of  the  preceding 
example,  tactful  suggestions  must  be  made  to  help  her  make 
up  her  mind,  even  to  the  point  of  telling  her  exactly  what  she 
needs.  To  do  this  she  should  be  questioned  as  to  the  use  to 
which  she  will  put  the  article  she  is  seeking. 

Suppose  a  woman  of  this  type  enters  a  dry  goods  store 
and  asks  to  see  some  cretonne.  The  salesman  immediately 
places  several  designs  on  the  counter  and  notices  whether  a 
large  or  small  pattern  attracts  the  shopper’s  attention.  He 
also  observes  which  colors  seem  to  please  her  most.  With 
these  two  points  decided  he  will  be  able  to  concentrate  her 
attention  on  certain  patterns  when  the  time  to  close  the  sale 
arrives.  By  asking  how  the  cretonne  is  to  be  used  and  what 
colors  predominate  in  the  room  where  it  is  to  be  hung,  the 
salesman  limits  the  number  of  patterns  that  need  to  be  shown. 

When  these  points  are  decided  he  can  become  more  definite 
and  positive  in  his  suggestions.  He  decides  that  certain  pat¬ 
terns,  while  charming,  are  not  suited  to  her  particular  purpose 
and  so  he  removes  them  from  sight.  When  the  choice  finally 
rests  with  two  or  three  patterns  and  the  customer  still  remains 
undecided,  the  salesman  takes  up  the  one  which  in  design  and 
color  seemed  most  to  appeal  to  her  at  first  and  says,  “All  things 


272 


PRINCIPLES  OF  SALESMANSHIP 


considered,  Madam,  this  is  the  one  pattern  for  your  purpose. 
You  say  it  is  to  be  used  with  a  north  light,  so  you  must  of 
course  have  something  with  gold  in  it.  As  it  is  for  your 
daughter’s  room  you  want  something  dainty,  and  this  certainly 
is  dainty.  This  exactly  fills  the  bill,  and  you  could  not  find 
anything  better  if  made  for  you.” 

Here  he  should  sweep  all  the  other  patterns  to  one  side, 
continuing,  “Just  notice  how  effective  it  looks  in  the  length. 
Isn’t  it  charming?  And  it  is  a  design  that  you  never  tire  of. 
The  color  will  blend  with  all  other  colors,  in  any  light.  How 
many  yards  did  you  say  you  required?” 

The  shopper  may  agree  with  the  salesman  but  still  add: 
“Yes,  I  like  that,  but  let  me  look  at  the  other  patterns  again.” 

To  this  the  salesman  may  reply,  “With  pleasure,  Madam, 
but  I  should  be  sorry  to  see  you  select  anything  but  the  one  in 
front  of  you,  for  this,  in  my  opinion,  is  much  more  suitable. 
No  other  pattern  has  these  delicious  gold  stripes  and  that  is 
just  what  sets  off  a  room  with  a  north  light.” 

Her  possible  reply  may  be:  “Yes,  perhaps  you  are  right. 
How  much  did  you  say  this  was?” 

“Two  dollars  a  yard,  Madam.  And  how  many  yards?” 

.  “I  think  I  shall  need  about  12.” 

“Twelve  yards  of  this  will  cost  you  $24,  Madam.  Where 
shall  I  send  it?” 

Thus  the  sale  is  closed.  The  indecision  of  a  buyer  of  this 
type  is  often  due  to  lack  of  confidence  in  her  own  judgment. 
The  salesman’s  positive  assurance  supplies  the  courage  needed 
to  make  the  expenditure. 

The  Occasional  Customer — Many  people  make  a  practice 
of  buying  one  commodity  here,  another  there,  a  third  elsewhere, 
even  though  all  three  might  well  be  purchased  in  one  store. 
For  some  reason,  either  emotional  or  logical,  they  have  acquired 
the  habit  and  are  not  easily  diverted  from  it.  To  try  forcing 


CHARACTERISTIC  RETAIL  TYPES 


273 


their  interest  or  their  desire  is  likely  to  drive  them  away. 

Yet  to  sell  them  the  one  commodity  that  they  habitually 
purchase  without  any  effort  to  increase  the  field  of  sale  is  like¬ 
wise  poor  policy.  Quiet  persistence  from  day  to  day  and  week 
to  week  is  sure  to  pay  in  the  end.  If  the  customer’s  attention 
is  pleasantly  called  to  the  other  offerings  of  special  value,  one 
day  this,  another  that,  and  so  on,  he  is  kept  aware  of  the  chief 
lines  of  goods  carried  by  the  firm  and  in  an  emergency  of  any 
sort  will  recall  them.  For  example,  a  grocer  regularly  supplied 
a  customer  with  eggs  and  butter  and  nothing  else.  However, 
he  genially  indicated  this  and  that  article  whenever  she  visited 
the  store;  one  day  he  said,  “We  are  arranging  to  supply  all 
our  regular  customers  with  cider  during  this  fall ;  I  should  very 
much  like  you  to  have  a  gallon.”  She  murmured  an  indefinite 
reply,  much  as  usual,  and  left.  But  the  next  morning  she  called 
up  and  asked  him  to  send  a  trial  gallon  to  her  home  and  within 
the  week  had  given  him  an  order  for  a  gallon  a  week  until  the 
close  of  the  season.  This  order  was  the  point  of  the  wedge; 
little  by  little  she  developed  an  increasing  trade  with  the  grocer, 
leaving  her  other  tradesmen  for  him. 

In  the  department  store  it  is  not  always  easy  to  tell  the 
occasional  customer  from  the  buyer  who  does  practically  all 
her  shopping  there.  But  as  a  considerable  number  buy  from 
several  houses  it  is  always  good  policy,  under  normal  condi¬ 
tions,  to  suggest  not  only  other  articles  that  the  salesperson 
herself  is  able  to  show  but  also  such  goods  as  may  be  needed 
to  supplement  them  which  can  be  secured  in  other  departments. 
The  cretonne  salesman  on  taking  an  order  can  mention  curtain 
rods,  fringe,  wallpaper,  and  so  forth,  goods  that  lead  the 
customer  to  visit  other  departments  with  which  she  is  not  so 
familiar. 

The  Telephone  Customer. — The  buyer  who  orders  sup¬ 
plies  by  telephone  is  often  prone  to  question  the  quality  of  the 


274 


PRINCIPLES  OF  SALESMANSHIP 


goods  she  receives.  And  there  has  been  justification  for  this 
doubt  at  times.  It  is  but  human  nature  to  pay  more  attention  to 
the  selection  of  a  cut  of  meat  for  a  customer  standing  at  the 
counter  than  for  someone  whose  order  is  on  a  scribbled  list. 
This  tendency  to  slight  the  telephone  customers  is  obviously 
unfair  and  also  bad  business.  That  customer  is  of  a  type  that 
is  ready  to  spare  herself  exertion,  whether  through  fatigue, 
poor  health,  or  pressure  of  other  affairs;  though  not  neces¬ 
sarily  a  spendthrift  she  is  not  a  close-fisted  type  as  a  rule. 
Consequently  her  custom  is  decidedly  worth  retaining  and 
special  pains  should  be  taken  to  see  that  the  telephone  customer 
is  satisfied  with  goods  and  likewise  with  service. 

The  Impatient  Customer. — The  sole  point  to  be  empha¬ 
sized  beyond  the  manifest  need  of  courtesy  and  promptness  is 
this :  other  customers  must  not  be  sacrificed  to  the  impatience  of 
a  buyer  or  a  prospect  either  by  waiting  upon  the  impatient  one 
out  of  turn  without  special  reason  given  and  apologies  offered 
and  accepted  by  the  other  customers,  or  else  by  the  salesman 
allowing  his  own  manner  to  become  affected  unfavorably 

by  the  hurried  manner. 

/ 

The  Ignorant  Customer — That  the  salesman  usually 
knows  far  more  of  the  goods  than  the  customer  has  already 
been  discussed.  The  type  of  customer  here  to  be  considered  is 
the  one  who  is  lacking  in  even  elementary  knowledge.  The 
explanations  must  be  especially  simple,  the  courtesy  shown 
must  be  easy  and  yet  absolutely  obvious.  Uneducated  persons 
do  a  great  deal  of  buying,  they  generally  are  self-conscious; 
consequently  those  merchants  and  salespersons  who  treat  them 
most  pleasingly  secure  a  trade  that  may  grow  to  large  amounts. 
Consideration  for  this  type  of  customer  is  all  too  frequently 
lacking,  an  error  that  leads  to  the  profit  of  other  firms  in  their 
custom. 


CHARACTERISTIC  RETAIL  TYPES 


275 


The  Non-English-Speaking  Customer. — Except  in  the 
more  exclusive  stores  in  the  larger  cities,  the  retail  salesman 
has  to  wait  upon  people  who  do  not  speak  English  readily  and 
whose  knowledge  of  the  language  is  so  limited  that  they  under¬ 
stand  but  little  of  what  we  regard  as  common  expressions. 
This  type  of  customer  is  cautious  in  buying;  her  lack  of  knowl¬ 
edge  of  the  language  leads  to  a  more  or  less  helpless  attempt 
to  follow  the  suggestions  and  reasoning  of  the  salesperson; 
her  final  decision,  to  buy  or  to  decline,  is  based  more  on  the 
manner  of  the  salesperson  than  on  the  actual  words.  It  is  not 
unusual  for  such  a  customer  to  bring  a  friend  with  her  to  act 
as  interpreter,  though  that  friend  may  have  but  slight  command 
of  English. 

In  any  case  the  salesperson’s  manner  is  of  the  most  vital 
importance.  A  foolish  comment  to  a  fellow  salesman,  a  “mean¬ 
ing  glance,”  an  indifferent  pose,  and  all  other  attitudes  of  dis 
taste  or  ridicule  are  signs  in  a  language  that  is  universally 
understood  and  needs  no  skill  to  read.  As  with  the  ignorant 
type  of  customer,  any  suggestion  of  discourtesy  in  act  or 
thought  is  a  justifiable  cause  for  resentment  and  a  refusal  to 
consider  buying. 

Children. — Children  should  be  attended  to  in  their  “turn” 
just  as  adults.  Most  little  folks  appreciate  any  special  atten¬ 
tion  (as  indeed  who  does  not),  such  as  an  inquiry  after  a 
sister  or  a  brother,  or  some  trifling  gift  in  the  nature  of  an 
advertising  novelty,  a  picture  card,  or  the  like. 

This  latter  point  is  determined  by  the  manager  of  the  store; 
a  policy  of  this  kind  is  far  reaching  in  its  effects  and  must  not 
be  violated  any  more  than  any  other  rule  of  the  firm ;  while 
apparently  trifling  it  may  have  been  established  only  after 
months  or  even  years  of  experience.  A  butcher  made  a  prac¬ 
tice  of  cutting  off  a  slice  of  bologna  sausage  and  giving  it  to 
the  children  sent  to  him  for  purchases;  “no  harm  in  that”  you 


276 


PRINCIPLES  OF  SALESMANSHIP 


think,  perhaps,  and  yet  many  parents  objected.  The  butcher 
abandoned  the  custom  but  for  some  months  the  children  re¬ 
garded  him  with  suspicion.  A  stationery  and  candy  and 
magazine  dealer  often  bestowed  some  trifling  bit  of  candy  on 
the  children  who  ran  in  for  this  or  that  in  the  course  of  the 
morning  or  afternoon  errands.  He  did  this  in  the  goodness  of 
his  heart,  not  for  the  sake  of  bribing  them  to  deal  with  him, 
but  because  he  was  specially  fond  of  bright  faces  and  fun.  But 
he  had  to  give  up  the  practice;  ‘T  found  that  they  expected  the 
candy  as  a  right/’  he  said  one  day  to  a  school  teacher  who  lived 
near  by.  He  had  violated  the  rule  of  fair  and  square  dealing; 
for  though  he  was  trying  to  make  them  happy,  in  reality  he  was 
encouraging  selfishness.  The  child,  like  any  other  customer, 
must  have  his  due,  that  treatment  which  is  best  fitted  to  satisfy 
legitimate  needs  and  maintain  a  sound  business  fellowship. 
Further,  the  good-will  of  today’s  children  is  the  basis  of  the 
store’s  business  ten  years  hence. 

The  patronizing  air  that  some  mistaken  salespersons  assume 
towards  children  is  as  offensive  to  the  children  as  to  an  adult. 
A  spirit  of  comradeship  is  excellent,  one  of  condescension  ab¬ 
solutely  wrong. 

The  Sympathetic  Attitude. — Throughout  the  salesman’s 
work  his  attitude  toward  the  customer  must  be  sympathetic 
in  the  true  sense  of  that  rather  abused  term;  that  is,  he  must 
recognize  and  adapt  himself  to  the  feelings  and  views  of  the 
buyer,  but  without  familiarity,  for  that  is  impertinent.  In  a 
word,  the  retail  salesman’s  attitude  to  all  customers  should  be 
friendly  but  not  familiar ;  he  should  welcome  every  incoming 
customer  as  an  invited  guest  to  the  store — we  have  all  become 
irritated  at  waiting  for  attention  without  receiving  even  the 
scantiest  of  recognition — and  be  pleasantly  attentive  to  the 
customer’s  comments. 


CHAPTER  XXIV 


THE  MAKE-UP  OF  PERSONALITY 

The  Salesman’s  All-Round  Development. — We  will  as¬ 
sume  that  the  advice  and  suggestions  as  to  the  preparation  of 
the  sales  talk  have  been  followed.  We  will  also  assume  that 
the  art  of  playing  the  game  alertly  and  resolutely  during  the 
interview  has  been  studied  and  practiced. 

So  far  the  instruction  has  been  definite  and  related  to  par¬ 
ticular  problems.  To  profit  to  the  full  extent  from  the  tech¬ 
nique  thus  acquired  entails  the  study  of  one  other  important 
factor  in  the  make-up  of  the  perfect  salesman.  We  have  now 
to  consider  the  general,  all-round  make-up  of  the  man  himself ; 
this  includes  the  development  of  all  the  powers  summed  up  in 
the  word  “personality.” 

The  Effect  of  Personality. — One  salesman  is  received 
with  a  welcoming  smile  by  strangers;  another  is  greeted  apa¬ 
thetically  or  coldly.  If  they  are  known  to  the  customer  and 
have  called  on  him  many  times  before,  to  one  a  genial  welcome 
and  an  attentive  hearing  are  accorded,  to  the  other  an  indifferent 
greeting,  with  a  half-concealed  desire  to  hear  what  he  has  to 
say  as  quickly  as  possible — probably  with  a  view  to  a  speedy 
disappearance. 

The  two  salesmen  may  be  fairly  equal  in  ability,  in  charac¬ 
ter,  and  in  knowledge  of  their  goods.  Why  is  it  that  one  is 
granted  a  willing  and  attentive  ear,  while  the  other  meets  with 
indifference  and  even  impatience?  It  is  a  question  of  person¬ 
ality.  One  salesman,  outwardly  and  subconsciously,  impresses 


2.77 


278 


PRINCIPLES  OF  SALESMANSHIP 


you  with  the  force  or  with  the  geniality  of  his  character.  The 
appearance  and  manner  of  the  other  reveals  no  such  compelling 
or  attracting  power. 

The  Indefinable  Thing  Termed  “Personality.” — Person¬ 
ality  is  difficult  to  analyze  and  define.  It  implies  the  possession 
of  certain  qualities  which  enable  one  man  to  win  out  where 
another  who  is  deficient  in  these  qualities,  because  he  has  failed 
to  develop  them,  will  fail. 

Personality,  therefore,  is  more  than  mere  physical  attrac¬ 
tion.  A  man  who  is  handicapped  by  his  appearance  or  his  lack 
of  inches  may  still  impress  others  with  his  personality.  Per¬ 
sonality  is  the  blending  of  several  positive  attributes,  such  as 
enthusiasm,  sincerity,  earnestness,  breadth,  depth,  tact,  imag¬ 
ination,  health,  vitality,  and  so  on.  These  attributes  taken 
together  round  out  the  man  and  form  a  character  that 
instinctively  we  like,  admire,  and  trust. 

A  man  whose  positive  traits  are  developed  into  a  strong 
personality  will  do  far  more  with  a  given  situation  than  a  man 
who  has  made  no  conscientious  effort  to  develop  his  powers  in 
general.  The  man  with  a  personality  inspires  confidence.  We 
are  ready  to  believe  what  he  has  to  say.  The  salesman  who 
has  developed  his  mental  and  moral  qualities  so  that  they  are 
reflected  in  his  words  and  in  the  truth  and  clarity  of  his  state¬ 
ments,  is  able  to  impress  others  with  the  force  of  his  character. 
Pie  can  handle  many  a  difficult  situation  with  success  where 
the  man  whose  personality  is  merely  negative  or  undeveloped 
will  fail. 

The  all-round  cultivation  of  personality  is  thus  an  impor¬ 
tant  part  of  every  salesman’s  study  and  preparatory  work. 
If  you  “mean  business”  and  want  to  be  learning  and  improving 
all  the  time,  the  study  is  essential.  Only  the  man  who  per¬ 
sistently  seeks  out  his  weaknesses  and  strives  to  eradicate  them 
by  the  development  of  positive  traits,  working  during  his  free 


THE  MAKE-UP  OF  PERSONALITY 


279 

hours  as  well  as  when  on  duty,  can  hope  to  climb  high  in  the 
ranks  of  salesmanship. 

How  Personality  Can  be  Developed. — You  will  readily 
acknowledge  that  so  far  as  outward  appearance  is  concerned 
your  personality  is  largely  under  your  own  control.  You  will 
also  concede  that  your  general  manner — the  self-control  and 
courtesy  of  your  bearing,  the  tone  of  your  voice,  the  tact  you 
show  in  not  openly  contradicting  a  customer  and  in  avoiding 
topics  which  irritate  or  antagonize — these  important  points 
which  help  to  make  up  a  pleasing  personality,  are  also  under 
your  control.  Can  you  not  go  further?  As  you  think  the 
matter  over,  will  you  not  admit  that  other  traits  which  reflect 
inward  personality  or  character  are  in  their  expression  and 
development  almost,  if  not  quite,  as  much  under  your  control 
as  these  superficial  traits  of  manner  and  appearance? 

If,  therefore,  you  can  improve  and  develop  your  personality 
by  the  care  and  attention  which  you  pay  to  outward  and  plainly 
visible  things,  why  can  you  not  improve  and  develop  your 
character  by  the  care  and  attention  you  pay  to  those  qualities 
which  help  to  mold  and  form  the  inner  man  ? 

Why  the  Study  of  Personality  Comes  Last. — The  dis¬ 
cussion  of  the  development  of  personality  in  the  salesman’s 
general  training  has  been  reserved  until  the  study  of  definite 
technical  matters  has  been  completed.  This  seems  the  best 
arrangement  for  two  reasons. 

After  the  salesman  has  acquired  a  technical  knowledge  of 
the  details  of  his  business  and  has  had  frequent  opportunity 
to  put  the  theoretical  side  of  his  study  into  actual  practice,  he 
is  better  able  to  appreciate  the  important  part  that  personality 
plays  in  salesmanship.  He  needs  the  school  of  experience  to 
reveal  to  him  his  weaknesses  and  strength.  To  consider  the 
development  of  personality  as  the  first  step  in  the  study  of 


28o 


PRINCIPLES  OF  SALESMANSHIP 


salesmanship  before  the  student  has  acquired  a  rudimentary 
knowledge  of  what  this  study  and  practice  entails,  would  be 
very  much  like  erecting  a  large  and  handsome  flight  of  steps 
leading  to  the  porch  of  a  house  before  the  construction  of  the 
building  itself. 

The  study  of  personality  should  also  be  left  as  the  final 
chapter  in  the  salesman’s  education,  because  personality  is  an 
all-inclusive  term.  If  taken  analytically,  it  might  be  subdivided 
into  hundreds  of  traits.  To  treat  the  subject  in  that  way 
would  be  interesting  for  the  reader,  but  the  salesman  would 
not  find  it  very  helpful  as  a  course  of  practical  study  which 
he  might  definitely  apply.  Indeed,  such  a  method  of  treating 
the  subject  would  be  confusing  for  the  man  in  search  of 
concrete  advice  and  definite  suggestions  as  a  guide  to  the 
development  of  his  own  personality. 

A  preferable  course,  and  the  one  here  adopted,  is  to  sum¬ 
marize  the  subject  in  a  few  main  points,  which,  when  taken 
together,  will  be  found  to  cover  the  whole  case.  Then  the 
student  is  in  a  better  position  to  see  the  relationship  of  these 
main  points  to  the  whole  subject  and  to  work  each  out 
systematically  and  in  detail. 

How  to  Make  the  Study  Practical. — To  make  the  advice 

of  practical  value  an  attempt  is  made  to  present  it  in  a  form 
that  will  enable  the  salesman  to  map  out  a  definite  course  of 
procedure.  This  course  will  as  infallibly  lead  to  the  improve¬ 
ment  of  his  own  personality  in  those  traits  in  which  he  is 
weakest,  or  which  as  yet  are  undeveloped,  as  a  course  of 
instruction  in  swimming  if  perseveringly  practiced  will  lead 
\o  the  acquirement  of  the  art. 

The  development  of  personality  is  considered  in  six  chapters 
under  the  same  number  of  heads.  First  in  importance  comes 
enthusiasm.  Enthusiasm  is  the  steam  that  drives  the  engine — 
the  yeast  that  leavens  the  mass  of  dough.  Enthusiasm,  how- 


THE  MAKE-UP  OF  PERSONALITY 


281 

ever,  may  run  to  waste,  or,  unless  supported  by  the  habit  of 
industry,  it  may  die  down.  The  next  chapter,  therefore,  deals 
with  the  acquirement  of  the  habit  of  industry. 

However  enthusiastically  and  industriously  a  salesman  may 
work,  much  of  his  effort  is  marred  if  he  neglects  certain  little 
things  in  dress,  speech,  manner,  and  deportment.  Superfi¬ 
cially  these  may  seem  unimportant,  but  if  ignored  they  may 
and  often  will  prove  a  severe  handicap.  In  consequence  the 
study  of  these  minor  details  must  form  part  of  the  study  of 
personality.  This  naturally  leads  to  the  consideration  of  man¬ 
ners  and  courtesy  in  a  separate  chapter. 

As  the  salesman  acquires  the  habit  of  industry,  works  with 
enthusiasm,  and  strives  to  apply  the  theory  of  his  study  in  his 
practical  work  day  by  day,  insensibly  he  will  be  developing  that 
side  of  his  character  which  reveals  itself  in  the  two  essential 
attributes  of  salesmanship — courage  and  tact. 

Courage  is  largely  founded  on  confidence  in  oneself  and 
belief  in  one’s  ability  to  cope  with  any  situation.  Courage, 
therefore,  grows  with  experience.  Tact  is  a  sensitiveness  to 
moods  and  impressions  and  the  effect  of  one’s  words  and 
actions  on  others.  When  tact  is  lacking  it  can  be  developed 
only  in  the  field  of  experience.  Therefore  the  systematic 
methods  of  conscious,  deliberate  acquirement  that  apply  to  the 
traits  already  mentioned  do  not  apply  so  well  to  these  two 
ultimate  characteristics  of  the  man  who  wants  to  climb  high. 

If  you  study  the  theory  of  the  subject,  however,  and  steadily 
put  into  practice  the  advice  that  you  find  suitable  to  a  given 
case,  you  will  find  yourself  gradually  developing  these  charac¬ 
teristics  of  courage  and  tact  which  are  the  distinguishing  marks 
of  the  man  engaged  in  the  higher  flights  of  salesmanship.  The 
development  of  these  two  attributes  summarizes,  in  a  sense, 
everything  that  is  covered  in  this  or  any  other  treatise  on 
salesmanship. 


CHAPTER  XXV 


THE  LEAVEN  OF  ENTHUSIASM 

The  Sparkle  of  Salesmanship. — Just  about  50  per  cent  of 

all  big  successes,  whether  in  business,  art,  science,  or  politics, 
can  be  attributed  to  enthusiasm.  The  salesman  who  wishes 
to  climb  and  to  climb  high  must  be  enthusiastic  about  his  work. 
He  must  be  brimful  of  vim.  When  he  lacks  this  vim  or  zest, 
he  is  like  an  unpolished  diamond — he  lacks  sparkle. 

Enthusiasm  is  the  quality  that  makes  a  man  express  his 
belief  with  the  intense  earnestness  and  sincerity  needed  to  carry 
conviction.  The  man  who  is  enthusiastic  simply  overflows 
with  his  belief  in  himself,  his  goods,  and  the  advantage  of  his 
offer.  Consequently  the  first  and  the  most  important  of  all 
requisites  for  the  salesman  who  wants  to  work  with  full 
efficiency  is  to  believe  enthusiastically  in  himself  and  in  the 
merits  of  his  proposition. 

The  Contagious  Effect  of  Enthusiasm. — Enthusiasm  is 

effective  because  of  its  psychological  effect  upon  the  salesman, 
and  second,  because  this  effect  reacts  in  many  ways  upon  the 
customer.  Enthusiasm  is  contagious.  The  dynamic,  cher- 
ful  salesman,  who  is  brimming  over  with  vim  and  energy,  can 
pass  along  his  enthusiasm  just  as  a  coil  of  wire  carrying  a 
current  of  electricity  induces  a  current  in  the  coil  that  it  sur¬ 
rounds.  When  we  earnestly  believe  a  thing,  whether  or  not 
others  can  share  in  our  belief,  at  least  they  are  impressed  with 
our  earnestness.  The  salesman  who  is  alive  with  enthusiasm 
can  make  contact  with  even  the  customer  who  is  an  habitual 

282 


THE  LEAVEN  OF  ENTHUSIASM 


283 


grouch.  However  hard  a  nut  to  crack  any  man  may  be,  he 
is  insensibly  affected  by  another’s  enthusiasm  and  belief  in 
himself. 

Enthusiasm  Breaks  Down  Opposition — The  following 
episode  illustrates  the  effect  of  enthusiasm  on  others : 

A  salesman  handling  an  expensive  line  of  calendars  called 
on  a  retail  grocer  who  made  a  practice  of  giving  away  this  kind 
of  advertisement  at  Christmas  time.  The  time  of  the  sales¬ 
man’s  call  was  early  in  July.  When  he  explained  his  mission, 
the  grocer,  who  was  evidently  in  an  irritable  mood,  snapped 
out,  “Don’t  waste  your  time  and  mine.  I  have  made  up  my 
mind  not  to  think  of  calendars  for  three  months.  There  is 
nothing  doing — absolutely  nothing.” 

“But,”  said  the  salesman. 

“It’s  no  use,”  interrupted  the  grocer.  “I  tell  you  I  have 
made  up  my  mind.  You  are  about  the  sixth  calendar  man  who 
has  been  worrying  me  this  week.  Get  out!” 

“Very  well,  Mr.  Jones,”  he  coolly  and  persistently  replied, 
“we  will  talk  about  the  order  later.  There  is  just  one  thing  I 
want  to  say,  with  your  permission.  If  I  were  a  retailer  like 
yourself,  and  wanted  to  give  my  customers  the  smartest  calen¬ 
dar  I  could  find  and  the  salesman  didn’t  give  me  a  chance  to 
see  his  full  selection,  I  should  feel  that  I  had  not  been  treated 
squarely.  Wouldn’t  you,  if  you  were  in  my  shoes?” 

The  dealer  was  forced  to  concede  that  he  would  feel 
offended  by  such  treatment. 

“Now,  Mr.  Jones,  you  may  not  know  it,  but  I  am  more 
enthusiastic  about  the  designs  I  have  in  my  sample  case  than 
about  anything  I  have  ever  shown  to  you.  You  know  that  as 
the  season  advances  certain  designs  have  to  be  withdrawn  when 
all  the  calendars  that  can  be  produced  from  them  in  time  for 
Christmas  are  sold.  It  would  never  do  to  sell  the  same  calen¬ 
dar  to  two  or  three  dealers  in  the  same  town.  If  you  wait 


284 


PRINCIPLES  OF  SALESMANSHIP 


until  October  before  seeing  the  designs,  the  most  popular  and 
therefore  the  most  desirable  will  already  have  been  selected  by 
the  early  birds. 

“Mr.  Jones,  why  not  be  the  early  bird  that  catches  the  pro¬ 
verbial  worm?  In  your  own  interest  I  want  you  to  see  what 
splendid  novelties  I  have,  and  I  want  you  to  look  at  them  now. 
Then  if  any  particular  one  interests  you,  I  will  hold  it  for  you 
until  October,  when  you  can  give  me  your  order  and  instruc¬ 
tions  for  printing.  If  I  can  save  an  especially  attractive  calen¬ 
dar  for  you  that  otherwise  you  would  miss,  I  believe  you  will 
thank  me  for  my  insistence  at  this  time.  I  am  absolutely  sure 
I  have  the  pick  of  this  year’s  designs  with  me  now.  They 
are  simply  splendid.  Three  months  later  I  shouldn’t  be  half 
so  enthusiastic  about  my  line.” 

“All  right,”  said  the  grocer  grudgingly,  “I  will  look  at  your 
samples;  but,  understand,  I  will  not  buy  today.” 

“That’s  understood,”  answered  the  salesman. 

An  inspection  of  the  designs  revealed  one  calendar  which 
especially  appealed  to  the  grocer.  “That  certainly  is  unusual,” 
he  said  with  interest. 

“Yes,”  said  the  salesman,  “that  design  has  already  proved 
so  popular  that  I  know  it  will  have  to  be  withdrawn  before 
the  end  of  this  month.  By  the  way,  how  many  calendars  do 
you  use  every  year,  Mr.  Jones?” 

“About  5,000.” 

“Well,  why  not  let  me  reserve  5,000  for  you.  Don’t 
bother  about  the  order  until  you  are  ready.” 

The  salesman  left  with  a  signed  order  and  all  instructions 
as  to  printing,  delivery  to  be  made  in  November.  Only  his 
own  enthusiastic  belief  in  the  merits  of  his  designs  enabled  him 
to  arouse  sufficient  interest  for  an  inspection  of  his  samples. 

The  Effect  of  Enthusiasm  upon  Temperament _ Enthu¬ 

siasm  has  a  beneficial  effect  upon  temperament  as  well  as  upon 


THE  LEAVEN  OF  ENTHUSIASM 


285 


manner.  It  keeps  a  man  going.  It  gives  him  faith  that  he 
can  do  what  he  sets  out  to  do.  Difficulties  loom  large  when 
we  are  tired,  indolent,  or  timid.  But  enthusiasm  banishes 
fatigue  or  dismay  and  we  brush  the  obstacles  aside. 

Part  of  every  salesman’s  difficulty  is  his  own  feeling 
towards  his  prospects.  He  may  feel  doubtful  of  success  or 
he  may,  because  of  his  apathetic  interest  in  his  job,  be  unsympa¬ 
thetic,  contemptous,  or  careless.  If  one  is  governed  by  any 
of  these  feelings,  it  is  hard  to  sound  a  chord  of  sympathy  or 
interest  and  thus  hold  the  attention  of  others.  A  salesman 
who  is  in  any  of  these  moods  dissipates  his  resources.  The 
man  who  is  enthusiastic  conserves  his  powers  and  applies  them 
with  a  concentrated  will  to  succeed  that  inspires  confidence  in 
others. 

Loyalty  and  Belief  in  One’s  House. — Another  aspect  of 
enthusiasm  is  loyalty.  To  remain  loyal  to  the  house  he  repre¬ 
sents,  a  salesman  must  have  confidence  in  its  integrity  and 
belief  in  its  methods.  A  man  whose  enthusiasm  in  his  work 
is  founded  on  this  belief  will  find  it  easy  and  natural  to  be  loyal 
to  his  house  in  word  and  deed. 

To  enjoy  this  belief,  it  is  not  necessary  to  be  associated 
with  the  most  important  or  the  best  known  house  in  the  trade ; 
provided  a  firm  treats  its  men  fairly  and  squarely  and  is  honest 
in  the  statements  it  makes  about  the  goods  they  handle,  the 
house  will  merit  their  confidence.  The  salesman’s  faith  in  the 
house  he  represents  and  in  its  ideals  will  then  react  favorably 
upon  his  enthusiastic  belief  in  himself  and  his  offer. 

It  is  true  that  many  a  salesman  represents  a  house  which 
merits  his  loyalty  and  yet  he  fails  to  develop  this  fine  trait. 
Such  a  man  does  not  ring  true.  His  character  is  in  some  way 
warped.  If  his  firm  feels  that  he  lacks  loyalty,  no  reliance  will 
be  placed  in  him  and  no  important  executive  position  will  be 
open  to  him,  however  brilliant  he  may  be.  Enthusiastic  loyalty 


286 


PRINCIPLES  OF  SALESMANSHIP 


is  an  essential  trait  which  as  a  rule  distinguishes  the  man  who 
rises  to  a  position  of  any  responsibility.  It  is  equivalent  to 
the  citizen’s  devotion  to  his  country.  The  man  who  lacks 
loyalty  is  a  traitor  to  his  trade. 

Example  of  the  Result  of  Loyalty. — A  traveling  salesman 
representing  a  glue  house  was  approached  by  the  sales  manager 
of  a  competing  firm  just  before  starting  on  one  of  his  periodi¬ 
cal  trips.  The  sales  manager  offered  him  a  position  at  a 
considerable  advance  in  salary,  provided  he  would  leave  his 
present  firm  at  once  and  cover  the  same  territory  for  the  com¬ 
peting  concern. 

“I  appreciate  your  offer,”  said  the  salesman.  “Naturally 
I  want  to  make  as  much  money  for  myself  as  I  can,  but  it  would 
not  be  fair  to  my  house  to  leave  it  at  a  minute’s  notice  and 
under  such  conditions.” 

The  sales  manager  increased  the  offer,  but  the  salesman 
refused  to  consider  it  under  the  conditions  attached  thereto. 
He  wanted  a  bigger  salary,  but  he  declined  to  do  anything  that 
was  disloyal  to  his  present  firm.  So,  without  discussing  the 
matter  any  further  by  making  an  alternative  suggestion,  he 
started  on  his  trip. 

In  due  time  he  returned  from  a  successful  journey.  On 
entering  the  factory  he  was  called  into  the  president’s  office 
and  his  chief  said  to  him : 

“I  am  very  glad  you  declined  the  offer  you  received  before 
you  started  out  on  your  last  trip.  Your  work  has  been  excel¬ 
lent  ;  you  have  shown  unusual  ability — so  much  so  that  we  had 
you  in  mind  for  an  important  position.  The  present  sales 
manager  retires  in  a  year’s  time  and  I  thought  somewhat  of 
you  as  his  assistant  with  the  idea  that  you  should  take  over  his 
duties  when  he  retires. 

“I  happened  to  hear  of  the  offer  recently  made  you  and  of 
your  attitude.  This  test  has  proved  that  you  are  the  man  for 


THE  LEAVEN  OF  ENTHUSIASM 


287 


Loyalty  Must  be  Revealed  in  Little  Things. — Many  a 
man  will  remain  loyal  to  the  house  in  big  things  and  still  fail  to 
reveal  that  breadth  of  character  that  is  shown  through  loyalty 
in  little  things.  It  is  disloyal  to  complain  to  outsiders,  for 
instance,  about  the  rules  and  policies  of  a  firm,  to  criticize  its 
methods,  or  to  air  an  opinion  as  to  one’s  own  worth  and  its 
lack  of  recognition  by  the  house.  A  loyal  employee  never  does 
anything  to  injure  his  firm’s  best  interests,  even  though  to  do 
so  may  appear  to  be  to  his  advantage.  A  salesman  is  paid  not 
only  for  his  time  and  efforts,  but  for  his  faithfulness  to  the 
house  he  serves.  Unless  a  man  has  that  enthusiastic  belief  in 
the  policy  of  his  house  as  a  whole  which  tends  to  develop  the 
spirit  of  loyalty,  he  should  seek  another  connection  in  which 
this  spirit  will  find  freer  play. 

How  to  Develop  Enthusiasm. — In  generating  the  driving 
force  of  enthusiasm  the  first  requisite  is  for  the  salesman  to 
enjoy  his  work  and  to  throw  himself  eagerly  into  the  game. 
The  secret  of  eagerness  and  enjoyment  of  work  lies  in  interest, 
and  interest  is  dependent  upon  study  and  analysis.  The  more 
the  salesman  studies  the  business  side  of  his  particular  sphere 
of  work  and  analyzes  his  offer,  the  more  interested  will  he 
become  in  his  work,  and  the  more  eager  will  he  be  to  put  to 
practical  test  the  theories  he  has  worked  out  in  his  own  mind. 

When  a  man  works  because  he  enjoys  working  and  not 
merely  to  earn  so  much  a  week,  failures  never  dampen  his 
enthusiasm.  He  analyzes  his  failures,  he  studies  their  causes, 
and  he  enthusiastically  looks  out  for  another  opportunity  to 
succeed  where  formerly  he  failed.  The  salesman  who  does  not 
enjoy  his  daily  job  works  under  low  pressure  and  lacks  those 
few  extra  pounds  of  steam  which  will  help  carry  him  over 
many  a  steep  peak. 

Enthusiasm  the  Fruit  of  Confidence  and  Belief. — The 
salesman  who  lacks  confidence  in  the  merits  of  his  offer  can 


288 


PRINCIPLES  OF  SALESMANSHIP 


never  be  really  enthusiastic.  When  the  customer  raises  objec¬ 
tions  and  mentions  the  advantages  of  competing  goods  he  feels 
discouraged.  Many  prospects  are  not  interested  in  the  offer; 
others  are  impatient  and  brusque  at  the  opening  of  the  inter¬ 
view;  others  again  declare  that  they  know  nothing  about  the 
product,  do  not  care  to  know,  and  would  not  buy  if  they  did — 
for  reasons  which  they  explain  in  more  or  less  detail.  The 
salesman  must  have  the  utmost  confidence  in  the  merits  of  his 
proposition  and  the  firm  he  represents,  if  he  is  to  face  buyers 
of  this  type  with  the  serene  enthusiasm  that  can  alone  break 
down  opposition. 

To  have  confidence  in  himself  and  to  believe  enthusiasti¬ 
cally  in  his  offer,  the  salesman  must  have  more  than  a  super¬ 
ficial  acquaintance  with  the  advantages  of  his  proposition;  he 
must  be  immensely  interested  in  every  detail  from  every  point 
of  view — whether  of  service,  utility,  or  the  pleasure  which  can 
be  derived  from  its  use.  If  his  goods  have  a  style  or  fashion 
appeal,  he  must  take  sufficient  interest  in  the  artistic  side  of  his 
wares  to  become  enthusiastic  about  these  special  points  of 
merit.  If  his  goods  appeal  on  the  score  of  serviceability,  he 
must  be  so  interested  in  their  mode  of  manufacture  and  the 
quality  of  their  material  that  he  is  able  to  explain  enthusiasti¬ 
cally  why  they  will  render  exceptional  service.  In  short,  the 
more  interested  he  is  in  every  detail  and  the  more  anxious  he 
is  to  ferret  out  “reasons  why”  differences  in  style  and  quality 
exist,  the  more  enthusiastic  will  the  salesman  tend  to  become 
when  explaining  their  merits. 

The  Reaction  of  Industry  on  Enthusiasm. — The  salesman 

who  works  with  enthusiasm  is  like  a  compound  reciprocating 
engine.  Iiis  enthusiasm  does  not  run  to  waste.  It  reacts 
upon  his  work  habit.  The  more  pleasure  he  derives  from  his 
daily  task,  the  more  anxious  he  is  to  get  to  his  job.  Half¬ 
hearted  interest  and  a  desire  to  quit  work  as  soon  as  a  reason- 


THE  LEAVEN  OF  ENTHUSIASM 


289 


able  excuse  can  be  made,  vanish  under  the  spell  of  enthusiasm. 
Thus  the  harder  a  man  works,  the  more  enthusiasm  he  gener¬ 
ates,  and  this  enthusiasm  again  tends  to  keep  him  continually 
on  the  job  until  the  energetic  work  habit  becomes  a  second 
nature. 


CHAPTER  XXVI 


THE  HABIT  OF  INDUSTRY 

Industry  the  Fly-Wheel  of  Enthusiasm. — Important  as 

enthusiasm  is  in  a  salesman’s  make-up  it  is  well  to  remember 
that  no  man  can  work  full  pressure  all  the  time.  Enthusiasm 
cannot  always  be  kept  up.  Success  itself  inevitably  brings 
reaction.  Outside  circumstances,  such  as  the  weather  or  local 
conditions,  may  be  unfavorable  to  vim  and  fervor.  The  energy 
which  is  based  chiefly  on  enthusiasm  is  for  these  reasons 
uneven  and  not  always  to  be  relied  upon. 

Many  a  salesman  is  enthusiastic — but  only  in  spurts  and 
splashes.  His  enthusiasm  is  never  sustained  for  long.  It 
reaches  high  water  mark  after  one  or  two  successful  sales  but 
after  a  few  failures  it  begins  to  fall.  Then  if  the  day  happens 
to  be  rainy  or  if  he  does  not  feel  in  the  mood  for  work,  his 
enthusiasm  sinks  to  zero. 

The  governor  of  the  fly-wheel  of  enthusiasm,  which  will 
control  it  at  a  steady  pace  all  the  time,  is  the  habit  of  industry. 

The  Effect  of  Industry  upon  Temperament. — Enthusi¬ 
asm  can  be  steadily  and  persistently  generated  only  when  it 
is  supported  by  an  acquired  habit  of  work.  The  first  effect 
of  this  habit  is  that  it  teaches  one  to  give  concentrated  atten¬ 
tion  to  the  task  in  hand  and  keeps  one  from  being  distracted  by 
any  outside  influences.  A  postman  hardly  notices  the  weather. 
He  wouldn’t  think  of  delaying  the  delivery  of  the  mail  because 
it  happened  to  be  raining.  A  man  accustomed  to  a  noisy  office 
works  at  his  desk  unaware  of  the  noise  round  about  him. 


290 


THE  HABIT  OF  INDUSTRY 


291 


When  a  salesman  has  acquired  the  habit  of  industry,  out¬ 
side  influences,  whether  favorable  or  unfavorable,  affect  him 
but  little.  Some  days  will  have  their  disappointment  and 
disillusions;  others  will  be  more  successful  than  the  average. 
Both  tend  to  produce  corresponding  feelings  of  depression  or 
elation.  Some  men,  for  example,  are  apt  to  relax  after  any 
success  and  take  it  easy  for  a  while ;  others  lose  their  nerve  and 
slow  down  when  things  do  not  go  their  way.  If  the  habit 
of  industry  has  schooled  the  salesman  to  stick  to  a  regular  day’s 
routine,  good  or  bad  fortune  are  all  the  same  to  him.  He 
keeps  working  away  all  the  time. 

A  salesman  will  never  make  the  most  of  his  opportunities 
and  pile  success  upon  success  until  he  acquires  the  same  habits 
of  regular  and  punctual  work  that  are  required  and  insisted 
upon  in  every  well-disciplined  office,  factory,  or  other  organ¬ 
ization. 

Where  Lack  of  Self-Discipline  Proved  Fatal. — A  sales¬ 
man  received  a  telephone  call  at  his  hotel  from  the  leading 
jeweler  in  the  town  he  was  visiting  and  from  whom  he  had 
that  day  received  an  order.  The  message  requested  him  to 
be  at  the  jeweler’s  store  promptly  at  8.30  the  following  morn¬ 
ing.  The  representative  replied  that  he  would  certainly  be 
there  at  that  time. 

At  8.25  the  next  morning  he  was  still  finishing  his  break¬ 
fast.  While  eating,  his  thoughts  ran  something  like  this : 
“There’s  no  great  hurry;  he  has  ordered  all  the  goods  he  needs; 
he  doesn’t  usually  get  down  to  the  store  until  9.00,  so  there’s 
plenty  of  time.” 

The  salesman  arrived  at  the  store  at  8.50.  As  he  entered, 
the  jeweler  merely  nodded  to  the  greeting  of  “Good  morning!” 
His  manner  and  silence  perplexed  the  salesman,  who  opened 
the  interview  with  the  query : 

“Well,  what  is  it  you  wish  to  see  me  about  this  morning? 


292 


PRINCIPLES  OF  SALESMANSHIP 


Everything  was  all  right  in  the  order  you  gave  me  yesterday, 
I  hope.” 

“I  don’t  want  to  see  you  now,”  replied  the  jeweler. 

“But  you  rang  me  up  last  night  and  asked  me  to  down 
here  this  morning,”  expostulated  the  salesman. 

“Yes,  I  did,”  was  the  answer,  “and  I  asked  you  to  be  here 
at  8.30.  A  cousin  from  Minneapolis  wanted  to  order  some  of 
those  rings  I  bought  from  you  yesterday.  He  had  to  catch  the 
9  o’clock  train  out  of  town  and  he  has  already  left.  As  you 
were  not  here  for  your  appointment,  we  concluded  you  didn’t 
want  the  order.” 

“But  I  didn’t  know  you  wanted  to  give  me  an  order,” 
replied  the  salesman.  “If  you  had  said  so  over  the  phone,  I 
would  have  made  a  point  of  being  here  on  time.” 

“Yes,  I  understand,”  replied  the  jeweler.  “You’ll  be  here 
on  the  minute  if  it’s  to  your  advantage.  But,  if  you  don’t 
think  it  is,  then  the  appointment  has  no  value  in  your  eyes. 
Don’t  trouble  to  call  here  again.” 

A  lucrative  connection  was  broken. 

The  salesman  who  seriously  wants  to  acquire  the  right 
habit  of  work  which  includes  punctuality  and  strict  attention 
to  business  appointments,  must  discipline  himself.  He  then 
tends  to  be  less  unstable ;  his  temperament  becomes  more  even ; 
and  he  produces  energy  at  much  less  cost  that  the  individual 
who  relies  largely  upon  spurts  of  enthusiasm.  When  the  habit 
of  industry  is  acquired  it  is  natural  to  be  punctual  and  to  do 
the  thing  promised.  The  industrious  man  does  quietly  and 
efficiently  what  would  require  a  big  effort  of  will  and  a  good 
deal  of  fuss  if  one  were  without  this  wholesome  habit. 

The  Importance  of  the  Work  Habit  in  Salesmanship. — 

For  the  salesman  the  habit  of  industry  is  especially  important, 
because  he  usually  lacks  the  moral  support  of  working  with 
associates  and  under  immediate  supervision.  The  man  who 


THE  HABIT  OF  INDUSTRY 


293 


is  paid  on  commission  is  inclined  to  excuse  himself  for  not 
adhering  to  regular  hours  of  work  on  the  score  that  he  is  his 
own  master.  This  type  of  salesman  comes  to  the  conclusion 
that  it  is  hopeless  to  call  on  customers  before  10  o’clock,  because 
they  are  invariably  occupied  with  their  correspondence;  for 
similar  reasons  he  cannot  call  after  4  o’clock  in  the  afternoon; 
while  to  try  to  work  on  Saturday  morning  is  a  shear  waste  of 
time. 

Lacking  the  habit  of  regular  work  and  regular  hours  he  is 
continually  making  excuses  to  himself  for  not  working.  In 
consequence  the  driving  force  that  impels  him  to  stick  to  his 
daily  task  is  that  of  a  time  server  who  works  just  hard  enough 
to  hold  his  job;  or,  if  he  is  working  on  a  commission,  just 
enough  to  supply  his  needs. 

The  Salesman  Who  Wants  Work  Can  Find  It. — A  sales¬ 
man  may  occasionally  find  that  there  are  no  more  customers 
on  whom  he  can  conveniently  call  during  the  working  hours 
of  that  day.  Such  is  very  frequently  his  position  when 
visiting  small  country  places,  when  he  must  often  wait  over 
several  hours  in  a  town  because  of  inadequate  train  service. 
He  should  remember,  however,  that  his  work  is  not  wholly 
limited  to  personal  interviews.  He  has  frequently  to  com¬ 
municate  with  customers  by  means  of  writing.  Consequently, 
the  man  who  makes  up  his  mind  that  he  will  be  on  the  job  from 
such  an  hour  in  the  morning  to  such  an  hour  in  the  afternoon, 
can  under  all  circumstances  find  useful  work  of  some  kind 
that  will  profitably  occupy  his  regular  working  hours. 

The  Result  of  Keeping  Always  at  It. — A  salesman  selling 
the  specialties  of  a  Chicago  packing  house  had  only  one  cus¬ 
tomer  out  of  a  possible  three  in  a  small-sized  town.  He  was 
anxious  to  open  an  account  with  the  other  two  dealers  but 
several  calls  proved  fruitless.  After  calling  on  his  customer 


294 


PRINCIPLES  OF  SALESMANSHIP 


and  visiting  the  two  other  prospects  without  making  a  sale, 
he  arrived  at  the  station  early  one  afternoon  to  find  that  he 
had  just  missed  the  last  train  out  for  the  day.  There  was 
apparently  nothing  to  do  for  the  rest  of  the  day  but  to  return 
to  the  hotel  and  pass  the  time  comfortably  smoking  in  its 
lobby. 

Instead  of  doing  this  the  salesman  went  to  the  nearest 
telephone  booth,  picked  out  the  names  of  a  number  of  residents 
who  lived  in  the  better  section  of  the  town,  and  asked  in  each 
case  for  the  lady  of  the  house.  To  each  lady  he  delivered  a 
short  sales  talk  on  the  wire.  After  a  few  words  of  introduc¬ 
tion  and  brief  mention  of  the  merits  of  his  goods,  he  asked  the 
housewife  where  she  usually  bought  her  provisions.  If  she 
named  one  of  the  dealers  who  was  not  his  customer  he  sug¬ 
gested  that  she  ask  the  merchant  to  stock  his  specialties  so 
that  she  might  give  them  a  trial — at  the  same  time  saying  he 
would  be  glad  to  forward  samples  of  anything  in  which  she  was 
interested.  In  this  way  he  passed  several  hours  ringing  up  a 
large  number  of  people,  as  he  knew  that  among  the  number 
there  would  be  a  few  who  would  act  upon  his  suggestions.  He 
was  requested  in  several  cases  to  send  samples.  The  final 
results  of  this  profitable  use  of  his  few  leisure  hours  were  that 
when  next  he  called  in  this  town  he  was  able  to  sell  to  all  three 
dealers  because  of  the  inquiries  they  had  received  for  certain 
specialties  in  his  line. 

This  salesman  hated  to  be  sitting  idle,  drumming  his  heels 
in  a  hotel  lobby,  or  scanning  the  comic  section  of  the  daily 
paper,  just  as  some  so-called  salesmen  hate  the  work  habit 
and  are  on  the  lookout  for  any  legitimate  excuse  for  avoiding 
it.  With  every  excuse  for  loafing,  he  made  profitable  use  of 
his  time. 

One  result  of  acquiring  the  work  habit  is  that  it  soon  be¬ 
comes  much  more  interesting  and  amusing  to  keep  eternally 
at  it  than  to  lounge  around  and  do  nothing. 


THE  HABIT  OF  INDUSTRY 


295 


Hints  for  Developing  the  Habit  of  Industry. — To  acquire 
the  habit  of  industry  it  is  important  to  plan  a  regular  daily 
routine  which  must  be  rigidly  adhered  to  under  all  circum¬ 
stances.  This  routine  should  first  of  all  consist  of  regular 
hours  of  work.  The  salesman  must  be  just  as  conscientious 
with  himself  in  starting  his  job  at  a  stated  time  and  sticking 
to  it  until  quitting  time,  as  if  he  had  to  punch  a  time  clock 
with  the  knowledge  that  his  time  card  would  come  daily  to 
the  personal  attention  of  the  president  of  the  concern. 

As  the  occupation  of  the  wholesale  or  the  specialty  sales¬ 
man  necessitates  traveling  from  place  to  place  and  his  time  is 
more  or  less  at  the  mercy  of  his  customers,  it  is  often  impos¬ 
sible  to  map  out  the  work  far  ahead.  He  can  rarely  say  to 
himself,  for  instance,  that  he  will  call  on  so  many  customers 
every  day,  or  that  he  will  sell  a  certain  quantity  of  goods.  In 
suggesting,  therefore,  that  he  should  cultivate  regular  habits 
of  work,  the  intention  is  that  he  should  be  on  the  job  at  a 
certain  hour  and  refrain  from  quitting  until  a  certain  hour, 
with  the  fixed  determination  to  make  the  best  use  of  this  time. 

When,  however,  it  is  possible  to  plan  the  details  of  the  day’s 
work  in  advance,  this  should  be  done.  If  a  man  starts  out 
with  the  intention  of  working  so  many  hours  and  sets  himself 
to  do  certain  tasks  within  these  hours,  the  spirit  of  competition 
that  is  aroused  by  trying  to  do  a  given  thing  in  a  given  time, 
tends  to  make  the  work  more  interesting.  Interest,  as  already 
stated,  is  the  secret  of  concentration. 

The  salesman  need  not  worry  if  he  is  unable  to  live  up  to 
his  plan  at  once.  Habit  is  a  matter  of  growth  which  begins 
slowly  and  hesitatingly.  But  a  habit  that  is  adhered  to  grips 
you  in  time.  The  man  who  cultivates  industry  a  little  at  a 
time  will,  after  a  while,  be  unable  to  be  idle.  Presently  his 
day's  task  will  be  carried  out  with  almost  the  regularity  of  a 
machine,  which  neither  grows  tired  nor  suffers  from  moods, 
is  neither  oversanguine  nor  depressed. 


296 


PRINCIPLES  OF  SALESMANSHIP 


Tackling  the  Hardest  Jobs  First. — The  salesman  should 
also  make  a  point,  when  possible,  of  tackling  the  hardest  things 
first  in  his  day’s  work.  If  he  has  an  especially  disagreeable 
customer  to  meet  or  a  delicate  interview  which  he  rather  dreads, 
the  sooner  it  is  off  his  mind  and  done  with,  the  better.  If  he 
puts  it  off  until  nearly  the  end  of  the  day,  the  chances  are  that 
he  will  be  looking  for  excuses  to  shirk  it  and  procrastinate 
until  the  next  day.  Procrastination  is  the  worst  of  all  foes  to 
the  acquirement  of  the  habit  of  industry.  When  he  tackles 
the  most  difficult  task  at  the  outset,  he  is  fresh  and  keen  and 
his  enthusiasm  is  at  its  maximum  point.  If,  in  spite  of  every 
effort  he  fails — well,  he  knows  that  the  hardest  part  of  the  day’s 
work  is  over.  If  he  succeeds,  the  very  fact  of  his  succeeding 
where  failure  might  have  been  expected  will  exert  a  stimulating 
effect  upon  his  enthusiasm  throughout  the  rest  of  the  day. 

The  Importance  of  Foot  Work. — In  what  has  been  said 
throughout  this  book,  the  emphasis  has  been  made  upon  the 
importance  of  brain  work.  Study,  allied  with  practical  ex¬ 
perience  on  the  road,  is  the  recipe  for  the  man  who  wishes  to 
make  the  most  of  his  opportunities.  It  must  not  be  forgotten, 
however,  that  the  daily  routine  of  many  salesmen  calls  for 
considerable  activity.  They  are  constantly  on  the  move  from 
town  to  town  and  while  in  a  town  or  a  big  city,  from  place 
to  place.  ‘‘Foot  work,”  therefore,  also  counts  and  in  some 
lines  of  business  it  counts  for  a  great  deal.  A  salesman 
representing  a  staple  wholesale  line,  whose  customers  are 
fairly  near  together  and  who  does  not  need  to  carry  samples, 
can,  if  he  hustles,  call  on  from  twenty  to  thirty  customers  in 
a  day.  Another  man  of  less  energy  who  dislikes  locomotion 
may  adopt  a  more  leisurely  method  and  call  on  only  half  this 
number. 

The  salesman  who  is  enthusiastic  in  his  work  and  has 
acquired  the  habit  of  industry  will  waste  as  little  time  as  pos- 


THE  HABIT  OF  INDUSTRY 


297 


sible  in  getting  about.  Given  equal  ability,  the  hustler  who 
calls  on  double  the  number  of  customers,  will,  by  the  law  of 
averages,  reap  twice  the  orders  and  be  of  more  than  double 
the  value  of  the  less  energetic  man  to  the  firm  they  both  rep¬ 
resent.  Their  cost  in  salaries  and  expenses  is  the  same  whether 
they  turn  in  ten  or  twenty  orders  a  day. 

To  mention  this  point  as  a  precept  for  the  salesman  to  bear 
in  mind,  may  seem  to  introduce  a  trite  and  obvious  subject. 
But  it  is  well  to  remember  that  to  walk  briskly  and  eagerly 
from  one  place  to  another  tends  indirectly  to  generate  enthu¬ 
siasm  and  energy.  Our  thoughts  and  feelings  must  find  ex¬ 
pression  in  our  acts.  Conversely,  our  acts  react  upon  thought 
and  emotion. 

Reactions  of  Industry  upon  Enthusiasm  and  Courage — 

Two  of  the  most  positive  mental  assets  of  salesmanship,  enthu¬ 
siasm  and  courage,  are  greatly  affected  for  good  or  for  ill  by 
habits  of  industry.  A  man  may  experience  a  trying  and  dis¬ 
appointing  day  or  he  may  not  be  feeling  quite  up  to  the  mark. 
His  enthusiasm  in  consequence  is  dampened.  Under  the  cir¬ 
cumstances  he  cannot  help  feeling  a  trifle  discouraged.  A  man 
who  is  mercurial  and  lacks  the  work  habit  will,  in  consequence, 
be  inclined  to  shirk  his  next  day’s  task  until  he  feels  more 
in  the  mood.  The  man  who  works  only  when  he  feels  like 
it  is  pretty  sure  not  to  feel  in  the  mood  for  work  on  the  morn¬ 
ing  that  follows  a  discouraging  day. 

The  salesman  who  has  acquired  the  habit  of  industry  will 
automatically  be  on  his  job  at  his  regular  hour,  regardless  of 
what  he  did  the  preceding  day.  A  turn  in  the  wheel  of  fortune 
may  then  bring  back  with  a  rush  all  his  old  enthusiasm.  En¬ 
thusiasm  is  an  essential  trait  of  the  salesman  who  tackles  his 
job  with  the  pertinacious  courage  needed  to  climb  high. 


CHAPTER  XXVII 


THE  COURTESY  THAT  ATTRACTS  AND  PLEASES 

A  Salesman’s  Polish  and  Finish. — Crudely  finished 
goods,  lacking  the  minute  attention  to  detail,  which  is  always 
the  mark  of  the  master  craftsman,  may  serve  the  purpose  for 
which  they  are  made  as  well  as  the  more  polished  article.  Yet 
if  they  are  sold  in  competition  with  goods  of  superior  finish, 
the  more  carefully  finished  article  will  win  out. 

Exactly  the  same  rule  is  applicable  to  the  salesman.  A 
salesman  may  be  enthusiastic  and  industrious,  complete  in  his 
knowledge,  and  efficient  in  his  method  of  presenting  the  argu¬ 
ment,  but  his  success  will  be  marred  if  he  lacks  that  fine  polish 
and  finish  in  manner  and  bearing  which  is  implied  by  the  word 
“courtesy.” 

Courtesy  is  a  polish  and  finish  on  a  man’s  manners  and 
appearance  and  his  mental  qualifications  as  a  whole.  If  he 
lacks  that  softened  manner  implied  by  the  term  and  carries 
on  his  daily  work  with  the  rigidity  of  a  machine,  his  very 
efficiency  will  tend  to  become  offensive  and  to  grate  on  certain 
types  of  people  with  whom  he  comes  in  contact;  whereas  by 
tempering  the  natural  aggressiveness  of  his  calling  with  pleas¬ 
ing  behavior  and  courteous  consideration  for  the  feelings  of 
others,  he  is  able  to  gain  his  point  in  many  cases  where  more 
forceful  tactics  would  fail. 

The  Aspect  of  Courtesy  Termed  “Politeness.” — There 

are  two  aspects  of  courtesy.  The  first  we  term  “politeness” — 
the  more  external  manners  and  bearing  of  the  man.  The 

298 


THE  COURTESY  THAT  ATTRACTS  AND  PLEASES  299 


Second  aspect  is  considerateness — thoughtfulness  for  other 
people’s  tastes,  interests,  and  feelings. 

Politeness  in  manners  is  mainly  a  matter  of  care  for  the 
little  things  of  bearing,  such  as  removing  one’s  hat  upon 
entering  an  office,  soft  manners  and  speech,  little  attentions 
which  others  do  not  always  expect.  This  is  an  aspect  of  cour¬ 
tesy  which  can  be  developed  so  that  it  appears  at  all  times  and 
in  every  interview. 

The  salesman  can  begin  when  he  enters  the  office  and  asks 
for  information  from  the  girl  at  the  telephone  desk.  He  re¬ 
moves  his  hat  when  he  addresses  her  and  speaks  in  a  tone  of 
voice  which  shows  at  least  the  deference  due  to  her  sex.  In 
this  way  he  wins  her  liking  and  respect.  The  prospective 
customer  may  perhaps  not  be  able  to  see  him,  or  may  refuse  to 
see  him  in  spite  of  several  calls.  Eventually,  however,  if  his 
manner  and  bearing  win  the  liking  of  the  person  who  stands 
on  guard  before  the  prospect’s  door,  that  person  will  try  to 
secure  the  salesman  an  interview.  On  the  other  hand,  an 
abrupt,  discourteous,  dictatorial  manner  will  prejudice  those 
working  in  a  minor  capacity.  Their  influence  will  then  be 
exerted  to  hinder  his  reception  by  the  prospect. 

Examples  of  the  Effect  of  Politeness _ Two  wholesale 

salesmen  handling  furniture  covered  the  same  territory.  One 
was  successful  while  the  other  trudged  along  and  made  hardly 
an  amount  sufficient  to  cover  his  expenses.  Both  men  were 
capable  and  both  carried  good  lines.  A  study  of  their  methods 
quickly  disclosed  the  reason  for  the  difference  in  results. 

When  the  more  successful  salesman  entered  a  store,  he 
always  had  a  cheery  smile  for  every  clerk  in  the  place.  His 
manner  to  all  alike  was  uniformly  polite  and  genial.  The  less 
successful  man,  who  was  by  nature  more  shy  and  diffident, 
usually  ignored  employees  in  a  minor  capacity;  or  if  he  spoke 
to  them  at  all,  he  addressed  them  in  an  abrupt  way.  His  praC' 


3°° 


PRINCIPLES  OF  SALESMANSHIP 


tice  was  to  waste  no  time  in  greeting  but  to  make  his  way  direct 
to  the  buyer’s  office.  A  buyer  might  try  both  lines,  one  in 
competition  with  the  other ;  but  somehow  when  the  goods  were 
sold  in  this  way  those  of  the  genial  salesman  were  disposed 
of  more  rapidly  than  those  of  his  competitor.  The  clerks  in 
the  store  imagined  that  the  man  who  refused  to  recognize 
them  felt  himself  to  be  of  superior  clay,  and  they  resented  his 
unintentional  slight.  The  genial  salesman  they  thought  “a 
mighty  fine  fellow,”  and  in  consequence  they  lost  no  opportunity 
for  pushing  his  goods. 

The  Politeness  of  the  Good  Listener. — Politeness  is 
always  revealed  in  one’s  manner  of  talking  and  listening. 
When  we  are  listening  to  a  story  or  when  something  is  ex¬ 
plained  to  us  in  which  we  are  not  interested,  it  is  a  mark  of 
politeness  to  concentrate  on  what  we  are  told  so  that  the  talker 
does  not  find  that  his  remarks  have  been  addressed  to  the  air. 
Many  people  are  quite  unconscious  of  the  fact  that  they  are 
incapable  of  listening  to  others  because  they  insist  on  doing  so 
much  of  the  talking  themselves.  They  seize  every  opportunity 
to  interrupt  the  conversation  in  order  to  air  some  opinion  that 
has  occurred  to  them  that  may  or  may  not  be  relevant  to  the 
subject  under  discussion. 

The  salesman  who  finds  his  mind  wandering  while  his 
customer  is  talking  directly  to  him  and  who  is  waiting  for  an 
opportunity  to  make  remarks  of  his  own,  can  be  reasonably 
sure  that  he  lacks  the  courtesy  of  concentration,  which  is  an 
innate  mark  of  the  polite  listener.  Before  he  can  show  helpful 
sympathy  with  another’s  viewpoint,  he  must  first  listen  atten¬ 
tively  to  what  the  other  fellow  has  to  say. 

Attention  to  Appearance  Is  Always  Worth  While. — 

“Madam,  I  represent  the  Pasteur  Milk  Company,”  said  a 
house-to-house  canvasser  as  a  pert,  trim-looking  girl  opened 
the  door.  “I  wish  to  .  . 


THE  COURTESY  THAT  ATTRACTS  AND  PLEASES  301 

“Go  rub  the  mud  off  your  shoes  on  the  grass.  Don’t  stand 
there  dirtying  my  front  doorstep,”  she  said  with  an  air  of 
command. 

The  salesman  meekly  obeyed. 

“Madam,  the  milk  I  .  . 

“Take  your  hands  out  of  your  pockets.”  He  obeys. 

“Madam,  I  have  called  .  .  .” 

“Never  talk  to  a  lady  with  a  cigarette  in  your  mouth.” 

The  cigarette  is  meekly  thrown  away. 

“Please,  ma’am,  have  you  .  .  .” 

“Tuck  that  dirty  handkerchief  out  of  sight.  Now  I  think 
you  are  fit  to  be  seen,  but  you  would  look  better  if  your  shoes 
were  shined,  your  hat  brushed,  and  your  clothes  pressed. 
However,  I  will  now  call  the  lady  of  the  house.  I’m  the  hired 
girl.” 

This  anecdote  illustrates  how  important  are  manner  and 
appearance  and  how  many  little  things  go  to  make  up  a  pleasing 
whole.  Often  a  detail  of  which  the  salesman  is  unconscious 
will  detract  from  his  personal  appearance  or  so  mar  his  manner 
that  it  acts  as  an  irritant  upon  others.  When  any  of  these 
little  things  affect  the  customer  unpleasantly,  they  handicap  the 
salesman  in  creating  that  first  good  impression  which  is  so 
important  if  favorable  attention  is  to  be  given  to  the  offer. 

Personal  appearance  and  health  enter  strongly  into  the 
ability  to  impress  others,  and  appearance  is  sometimes  a  much 
greater  factor  in  salesmanship  than  the  average  salesperson 
realizes.  The  experienced  sales  manager  when  selecting  ap¬ 
plicants  to  fill  vacant  positions  will,  as  a  rule,  insist  first  of  all 
that  the  unknown  candidate  fulfil  certain  requisites  as  to  ap¬ 
pearance.  If  the  firm  he  is  to  represent  is  of  any  standing, 
he  must  look  like  a  gentleman  so  far  as  the  care  of  his  person 
is  concerned;  his  face  must  be  wholesome  and  show  health; 
his  features  must  show  determination  and  character;  and  there 
must  be  nothing  in  his  bearing,  his  countenance,  or  his  voice 
to  excite  mistrust. 


302 


PRINCIPLES  OF  SALESMANSHIP 


The  Effect  of  Outward  Appearance  upon  Others. — In 

outward  appearance,  first  in  importance  come  clothes  and  the 
details  of  dress.  Clothes  do  not  make  a  man,  but  the  fact 
remains  that  the  first  impression  we  create  is  as  much  to  be 
attributed  to  clothes  as  to  manners.  Manners  and  bearing  may 
quickly  make  us  forget  a  person’s  clothes;  but  until  he  begins 
to  speak  he  is  judged  by  the  general  appearance  of  his  attire. 

It  does  not  matter  if  the  salesman’s  clothes  are  inexpensive 
and  not  particularly  stylish,  but  it  does  matter  if  they  are  not 
in  good  order  and  appropriate  for  business  and  for  the  class 
of  men  with  whom  he  associates.  A  man  who  looks  clean 
and  well-groomed  in  every  detail,  from  the  shine  on  his  shoes 
to  the  parting  of  his  hair,  creates  an  impression  of  capability  so 
far  as  purely  outward  matters  are  concerned. 

The  accessories  especially  count — shoes,  collar,  cuffs,  hand¬ 
kerchief,  hat,  finger-nails.  Neglect  of  these  matters  suggests 
a  careless  and  slovenly  habit  of  mind.  Unconsciously,  the 
man  who  is  careless  of  his  personal  appearance  will  tend  to 
create  the  impression  that  he  is  careless  mentally  as  to  the 
statements  he  makes.  His  integrity  and  his  reliability  may 
in  consequence,  if  nothing  is  known  about  him,  suffer  unmerited 
depreciation  in  the  mind  of  the  customer. 

Effect  of  Dress  upon  the  Salesman  Himself _ The  con¬ 

sciousness  of  being  well  and  appropriately  dressed  has  a  vital 
effect  upon  the  man  himself.  Conversely,  the  consciousness 
that  something  is  lacking  in  one’s  appearance  has  a  more  or 
less  disturbing  influence  on  the  mind.  When  a  man  looks 
successful  and  prosperous  he  finds  it  easy  to  feel  and  be  success¬ 
ful.  The  mere  fact  that  a  salesman  presents  a  shabby  and 
unkempt  appearance  suggests  that  he  does  not  find  his  calling 
a  prosperous  one  and  thus,  indirectly,  the  worth  of  his  goods 
is  depreciated. 

The  most  successful  of  life  insurance  salesmen,  who  during 


THE  COURTESY  THAT  ATTRACTS  AND  PLEASES  303 

the  past  twenty  years  has  written  over  $8,000,000  worth  of 
insurance  policies,  says  that  in  his  earlier  days  when  he  had 
only  one  suit  of  clothes  he  used  to  clean  and  press  it  himself. 
When  dollars  were  few  and  far  between,  he  retained  an  im¬ 
maculate  crease  in  his  one  pair  of  trousers  by  placing  them 
every  night,  before  retiring,  under  a  mattress,  and  before  he 
left  home  in  the  morning  he  rubbed  his  shoes  into  a  supershine. 

The  Handicap  of  Unconscious  Mannerisms. — It  is  almost 
as  important  to  beware  of  acquiring  any  irritating  mannerisms, 
whether  of  speech,  voice,  or  gesture,  as  it  is  to  pay  attention 
to  dress.  Mannerisms  more  or  less  irritating  are  acquired  and 
indulged  in  quite  unconsciously  by  the  complacent  person  who 
is  not  severely  self-critical.  Such  mannerisms  may  seem  of 
trifling  importance,  hardly  worthy  of  attention;  yet  when 
they  irritate  the  customer  or  distract  attention  from  the  sales¬ 
man’s  arguments,  they  injure  business  and  may  suffice  to 
weigh  against  the  sale. 

When  salesmen  meet  together  in  the  hotel  lobby  after  the 
day’s  work  is  done,  they  frequently  discuss  the  various  kinds 
of  buyers  they  have  met.  When  buyers  meet  in  convention, 
they  not  infrequently  return  the  compliment  by  discussing  the 
characteristics  of  salesmen.  Each  group  might  profit  by  over¬ 
hearing  the  other’s  opinions. 

Several  buyers  who  were  discussing  salesmen  and  their 
mannerisms  described  their  pet  aversions.  “There  are  several 
things  I  dislike  to  see  a  salesman  do,”  said  one  buyer,  “but 
the  worst  in  its  irritating  effect  upon  me  is  the  ‘hat  juggler.’ 
He  never  knows  what  to  do  with  his  hat.  He  juggles  it  first 
on  one  knee  and  then  on  the  other,  and  he  passes  it  from  hand 
to  hand,  giving  you  the  impression  that  he  is  anxious  to  finish 
his  sales  talk,  jam  his  hat  on  his  head,  and  bolt. 

“Another  man  has  the  peculiar  habit  of  rubbing  his  nose 
violently  every  few  minutes.  While  he  is  talking  I  am  wonder- 


304 


PRINCIPLES  OF  SALESMANSHIP 


ing  how  it  is  that  the  skin  does  not  become  sore,  or  a  corn 
appear  in  the  wrong  place. 

“Another  is  continually  picking  imaginary  specks  off  his 
clothes.  A  fourth  trims  and  pares  his  nails  while  in  my  pres¬ 
ence — ignorance  of  good  breeding,  of  course,  but  none  the 
less  offensive.  A  fifth  has  a  habit  of  making  a  little  humming 
sound  with  his  lips.  Yet  another  keeps  striking  one  clenched 
fist  into  the  open  palm  of  the  other  hand,  and  does  this  for 
the  sake  of  emphasis  forty  or  fifty  times  during  the  interview. 
The  result  is  he  becomes  so  emphatic  that  you  can  hardly  trust 
a  word  he  says.” 

All  these  are  little  things,  which  in  themselves  are  of 
trifling  importance,  and  in  the  ordinary  course  may  affect  a 
salesman’s  chances  of  doing  business  in  only  a  slight  degree. 
But  when,  as  in  the  case  of  an  indifferent  prospective  customer 
who  has  been  hard  to  approach,  they  produce  an  irritating 
effect  and  distract  the  listener’s  mind  from  what  the  salesman 
is  saying,  then  such  mannerisms  may  be  handicapping  him  in 
his  career  to  a  much  greater  extent  than  he  imagines. 

Crudities  of  Speech. — There  are  a  number  of  widely  used 
colloquialisms  and  crudities  of  speech  which  are  irritating  to 
the  more  cultivated.  Moreover,  a  buyer  may  use  certain  ex¬ 
pressions  himself  and  yet  resent  as  a  familiarity  their  use  by  a 
salesman  who  presumes  that  these  more  or  less  vulgar  modes 
of  speech  appeal  to  him.  To  depart  in  any  way  from  the 
correct  or  accustomed  mode  of  speech  implies  that  we  are  on 
a  more  or  less  familiar  footing  with  the  person  addressed. 
To  assume  that  we  are  on  this  footing  after  a  few  moments’ 
brief  acquaintance  is  a  suggestion  which  many  persons  resent. 

As  mentioned  in  the  chapter  on  “Diction”  (XIII),  the 
phraseology  and  mode  of  speech  of  the  salesman  must  he  varied 
to  suit  the  intelligence  revealed  by  the  buyer.  In  nine  cases 
out  of  ten  the  use  of  slang  expressions,  provided  the  salesman’s 


THE  COURTESY  THAT  ATTRACTS  AND  PLEASES  305 


meaning  is  intelligible  to  the  listener,  might  not  result  in  any 
harm,  and  can  be  used  with  discretion  to  make  his  arguments 
more  picturesque  and  vivid.  The  salesman,  however,  should 
beware  lest  he  fall  into  the  habit  of  using  a  few  pet  slang 
phrases,  as  the  frequent  repetition  of  these  soon  becomes  in¬ 
tensely  irritating. 

Crudities  of  speech  are  frequently  due  to  habit  as  to  ignor¬ 
ance.  •  It  should  be  remembered,  however,  that  the  buyer 
will  very  likely  attribute  any  ungrammatical  expressions,  not 
to  the  carelessness  of  habit,  but  to  stupidity  or  lack  of  educa¬ 
tion.  To  convey  the  impression  that  he  lacks  education  or  is 
deficient  in  intelligence  is  not  the  sort  of  impression  any  sales¬ 
man  cares  to  create. 

Examples  of  Mannerisms  in  Speech. — Some  people  have 
a  habit  of  beginning  every  second  or  third  sentence  with  the 
word  “now,”  quite  unconscious  of  its  irritating  monotony. 
Imagine  a  salesman  talking  in  this  way:  “Now,  let  me  tell 
you  about  our  service.  Now,  I  know  you  will  agree  with  me. 
Now,  notice  how  well  this  is  finished,”  and  so  on  endlessly. 
The  word  “now”  is  a  useful  one  in  its  place,  but  repeated  in 
this  manner  it  becomes  irritating  to  critical  ears. 

Another  unfortunate  manner  of  speech,  which  many  sales¬ 
men  unconsciously  fall  into,  is  that  of  emphasizing  every  query 
or  assertion  with  an  additional  and  wholly  unnecessary  query, 
“Do  you  see?,”  “Isn’t  that  so?,”  “See  what  I  mean?,”  which 
they  affix  to  every  phrase  whether  put  in  the  form  of  a  query 
or  not. 

A  common  crudity  is  to  interrogate,  when  one  fails  to 
understand  or  to  hear,  by  means  of  a  grunt  and  a  rather 
irritated  expression  of  countenance  instead  of  by  courteously 
saying,  “Pardon  me,  I  did  not  hear,”  “I  beg  your  pardon,” 
or  a  similar  polite  remark.  This  form  of  interrogation  has 
a  jarring  effect  upon  a  person  of  any  breeding,  quite  sufficient 


3°6 


PRINCIPLES  OF  SALESMANSHIP 


in  some  cases  to  disturb  the  mental  poise  of  the  listener  and 
render  him  incapable  of  giving  the  salesman  a  patient  hearing. 

Control  of  the  Voice. — The  tone  of  the  voice,  the  loudness 
and  rate  of  talking,  the  clearness  with  which  a  man  speaks — 
all  contribute  to  a  favorable  or  unfavorable  impression  of  the 
salesman’s  personality.  Some  men  always  talk  noisily,  even 
in  a  quiet  room,  or  in  a  strident  tone  which  irritates  the  ear 
as  a  glaring  light  the  eye.  Others  talk  too  volubly,  so  that  the 
listener  is  annoyed  by  the  flood  of  words;  others  too  slowly, 
trying  to  emphasize  everything,  so  that  the  busy  man  who 
thinks  rapidly  and  to  the  point  soon  grows  tired  of  listening 
to  the  measure  elaboration  of  their  arguments. 

When  a  man  talks  in  a  modulated,  pleasant,  and  easy  tone, 
which  is  loud  enough  to  be  distinctly  heard  but  is  not  noisy,  he 
makes  it  easy  and  pleasant  for  the  prospective  customer  to 
listen  to  him,  and  also  leaves  himself  an  opportunity  to  be 
emphatic  by  raising  his  voice  to  accentuate  the  striking  points 
of  his  sales  argument.  The  most  attractive  features  of  the 
proposition  can  be  accentuated  in  this  way  with  the  object  of 
concentrating  the  customer’s  attention  upon  them. 

The  Eradication  of  Unconscious  Mannerisms _ What  is 

true  of  speech  is  true  also  of  awkwardness  of  posture  or  of 
nervous  movements  of  the  face,  hands,  or  feet.  Such  man¬ 
nerisms  as  tapping  with  the  fingers,  stroking  one’s  hair,  tilting 
back  one’s  chair,  even  coughing  or  clearing  the  throat — while 
they  may  not  have  an  irritating  effect  upon  nine  people  out 
of  ten,  will  jar  seriously  upon  the  tenth.  All  these  automatic 
motions  are  vents  for  unutilized  nervous  energy.  They  in¬ 
dicate  that  the  salesman  has  failed  to  bring  his  own  nervous 
system  under  the  control  of  his  will.  Yet  any  and  all  of  these 
indications  of  misapplied  nervous  energy  can  be  completely  con¬ 
trolled  by  the  will  if  a  sustained  effort  is  made  to  eradicate 


THE  COURTESY  THAT  ATTRACTS  AND  PLEASES  307 


them.  One  can  learn  to  avoid  errors  in  grammar  and  pro¬ 
nunciation,  irritating  gestures  and  mannerisms;  one  can  learn 
to  speak  distinctly  and  in  a  pleasing  tone  as  certainly  as  one 
can  learn  and  acquire  polite  table  manners. 

The  salesman  who  realizes  the  importance  of  these  little 
details  and  wishes  to  be  sure  that  he  is  free  from  anything 
which  is  irritating  or  a  cause  of  reproach  to  himself,  should 
watch  himself  at  all  times — not  merely  when  talking  to  the 
customer,  but  in  all  circumstances  and  places.  He  must  study 
the  subject  in  his  leisure  moments  and  he  must  ask  for  advice 
and  criticism  from  friends.  When  he  ascertains  his  own  weak¬ 
nesses,  in  this  respect  he  will  have  little  difficulty  in  effecting 
the  necessary  cure. 

The  eradication  of  disagreeable  mannerisms  and  the  ac¬ 
quirement  of  pleasing  manners  are  the  sure  results  of  patient 
effort.  When  once  the  right  habit  is  developed,  it  remains  and 
is  unconsciously  practiced  at  all  times. 

Courtesy  or  Consideration  for  Other  People. — The  de¬ 
velopment  of  resolute  and  persistent  habits  of  industry  allied 
with  enthusiasm  for  his  work  may  often  lead  the  salesman  to 
overplay  his  hand.  He  pushes  too  hard  and  tends  to  become 
domineering  in  his  aggressiveness.  Most  people  like  to  make 
up  their  own  minds,  or  to  think  they  make  up  their  own  minds, 
and  they  dislike  to  feel  that  in  any  way  they  are  driven  or 
hurried. 

It  is  true  that  in  some  cases  the  salesman  must  urge,  and 
even  drive,  an  irresolute  customer  to  a  decision.  But  the  very 
fact  that  he  is  sometimes  successful  in  doing  this  tends  to 
make  his  manner  so  aggressive  that  it  causes  offense  in  other 
instances — unless  it  is  leavened  with  courtesy. 

These  remarks  are  particularly  applicable  to  the  buyer  who 
is  readily  influenced  when  he  thinks  that  the  salesman  has  his 
interests  in  mind.  If  such  customers  imagine  that  tney  are 


PRINCIPLES  OF  SALESMANSHIP 


3°8 

being  driven  or  urged  toward  a  certain  course  by  a  salesman’s 
insistence  or  mere  will  power,  their  resistance  tends  to  stiffen 
and  they  draw  back.  If  they  think  that  he  is  considerate  and 
disposed  to  meet  them  half-way,  they  are  prepared  to  meet  him 
at  the  same  point.  Therefore,  the  habit  of  looking  at  the  offer 
from  the  customer’s  point  of  view  and  admitting  any  general 
disadvantages  that  it  may  possess,  is  one  method  of  cultivating 
courtesy.  The  salesman  thus  indicates  that  he  is  sensitive  to 
the  feelings  and  interests  of  others,  and  this  is  the  fine  flower 
of  courtesy. 

Aggressiveness  Should  be  Tempered  with  Courtesy _ A 

point  to  bear  in  mind  is  that  a  man  who  has  only  tireless 
habits  of  industry  to  recommend  him  and  who  uses  his  faculties 
in  an  aggressive  way,  without  the  leaven  of  courteous  consid¬ 
eration  for  others,  is  not  liked.  Not  all  his  customers  may  be 
actually  offended  by  a  purely  business  manner  which  thinks 
only  of  self-interest  and  leaves  courtesy  out  of  consideration, 
but  some  certainly  are  offended.  Moreover,  none  of  them 
enjoy  his  visits.  Such  a  man  finds  it  difficult  to  win  the  friend¬ 
liness  of  his  customers,  and,  as  we  have  seen,  the  salesman 
who  fails  to  do  this,  is  a  comparative  failure. 

In  former  days  salesmen  sought  to  create  this  feeling  of 
trust  and  friendliness  by  striving  for  the  reputation  of  “good 
fellows.”  They  collected  a  large  stock  of  funny  stories,  they 
adopted  a  uniform  manner  of  joviality,  and  they  were  ready 
to  be  convivial  when  opportunity  offered.  Methods  like  these 
are  out  of  date.  Today  the  old-fashioned  convivial  and  jovial 
manner  is  replaced  by  courteous  but  businesslike  efficiency. 

Discourtesy  Should  Never  be  Imitated. — Discourtesy  in 
others  should  never  be  made  an  excuse  or  reason  for  discourtesy 
in  ourselves.  The  salesman  who  never  forgets  his  manners 
and  is  equally  polite  in  every  trying  circumstance  always  re- 


THE  COURTESY  THAT.  ATTRACTS  AND  PLEASES  309 

ceives  his  reward  if  only  in  the  salutary  effects  of  the  self- 
control  he  has  exercised. 

A  young  ticket  seller  stood  inside  his  office  window  at  a 
theater  while  a  line  of  people  stood  outside.  A  woman  pushed 
her  way  to  the  box  office  and  protested  angrily  because  of  the 
poor  seats  she  had  been  given. 

“I  am  very  sorry/’  replied  the  youth,  “but  they  are  the 
best  I  have  left.” 

“I  don’t  believe  you,”  was  the  reply  in  a  tone  that  all 
could  hear.  “There  are  plenty  of  vacant  seats  left.” 

“Those  are  all  sold,  Madam,”  he  replied  in  a  perfectly 
courteous  tone,  “but  as  they  are  reserved  they  will  not  be 
occupied  until  the  performance  begins.  I  am  sorry  to  dis¬ 
appoint  you.” 

Many  a  man  would  have  become  angry  and  made  a  sharp, 
impatient  reply  in  view  of  the  fact  that  the  complaining 
woman  was  holding  up  a  long  line  of  people  who  were  waiting 
to  buy  seats.  The  effect  of  this  restraint  and  uniform  courtesy 
was  that  a  man  standing  in  line  presented  his  card  and  asked 
the  ticket  seller  to  call  on  him  next  day.  The  name  proved 
to  be  that  of  a  large  retailing  house.  When  the  young  man 
called  the  merchant  said : 

“A  man  who  can  keep  his  temper  as  you  can  keep  yours 
is  wasting  his  time  selling  theater  tickets.  You  will  find  a 
much  bigger  field  in  my  store.  What’s  your  present  job 
worth?”  On  hearing  the  sum  he  offered  the  youth  an  opening 
in  his  complaint  department  at  an  increase  over  the  theater 
salary. 

The  Acquirement  of  Courteous  Manners. — To  cultivate 

courteous  manners  and  a  polite  bearing  is  not  a  difficult  matter. 
First  in  importance  is  to  feel  kindly  disposed  toward  others 
and  to  seek  opportunities  to  help  them  or  to  do  something  which 
ordinarily  would  not  be  expected.  For  example,  to  hold  open 


310 


PRINCIPLES  OF  SALESMANSHIP 


the  door  for  a  lady  is  a  courtesy  which  some  men  never  think 
of  offering,  simply  because  they  have  never  practiced  it.  The 
courteous  retail  salesman  promptly  places  a  chair  for  a  tired- 
looking  customer  before  he  begins  to  serve  her.  After  such 
things  as  these  have  been  done  several  times,  they  quickly  be¬ 
come  matters  of  habit. 

Again,  one  can  make  a  special  effort  to  remember  names 
and  faces.  When  the  salesman  enters  a  retail  store,  he  can 
seize  the  opportunity  to  address  by  name  any  of  the  employees 
he  may  encounter  with  a  genial  query  as  to  what  they  have 
been  doing  lately,  or  what  has  happened  in  the  town  since  his 
last  visit.  Little  attentions  of  this  sort  all  serve  to  impress 
others  with  one’s  pleasing  manners  and  uniform  courtesy. 

How  readily  courteous  manners  can  be  cultivated,  will  be 
realized  when  we  reflect  what  a  simple  matter  it  is  to  use  the 
words  “Thank  you,”  and  how  frequently  this  simple  matter 
is  neglected.  These  two  words,  if  spoken  in  a  tone  of  real 
sincerity  and  with  a  pleasant  smile,  will  have  much  greater 
weight  in  influencing  a  retail  shopper  to  return  to  the  store 
than  the  average  salesperson  believes.  We  all  like  to  feel  that 
our  patronage  is  appreciated,  and  that  the  salesperson  who  has 
waited  upon  us  has  been  pleased  to  do  so  and  will  be  pleased  to 
see  us  again.  In  the  opinion  of  a  prominent  merchant,  only 
one  salesman  in  ten  says,  “Thank  you,”  after  every  sale;  and 
not  one  salesman  in  twenty  knows  how  to  say  it  effectively. 
The  salesman  who  ignores  this  rule  in  any  of  the  numerous 
stores  of  a  well-known  tobacco  company  may  expect  dismissal 
at  any  time. 

How  much  the  mention  of  these  two  little  words,  “Thank 
you,”  reacts  upon  the  bearing  of  the  salesman,  it  is  impossible 
to  say.  But  the  mere  fact  that  one  expresses  one’s  apprecia¬ 
tion  and  one’s  thanks  before  the  customer  leaves,  results  in 
the  striking  of  a  pleasant  note  at  the  moment  when  the  inter- 


THE  COURTESY  THAT  ATTRACTS  AND  PLEASES  3H 

view  is  terminated  and  thus  leaves  a  pleasing  impression  iri 
both  minds. 

Courtesy  Part  of  the  Salesman’s  Stock-in-Trade. — Buy¬ 
ing  is  a  serious  business.  It  involves  an  outlay  to  which  a 
certain  element  of  risk  is  attached.  It  also  entails  the  exercise 
of  judgment  in  which  mistakes  can  easily  be  made.  In  con¬ 
sequence  the  responsibilities  which  fall  upon  the  buyer  are  such 
that  they  frequently  perplex  and  harass  him.  This  fact  may 
react  on  his  mood  and  make  him  irritable.  Therefore,  the 
task  of  the  buyer  should  be  made  as  easy  and  pleasant  as 
possible. 

When  in  the  presence  of  a  harassed  and  irritable  buyer  the 
salesman  may  need  to  assume  a  courteous  attitude  even  though 
beneath  the  surface,  he  feels  intensely  irritated.  The  assump¬ 
tion  of  this  courtesy  is  not  hypocrisy  but  self-control.  There 
is  no  more  business  or  moral  objection  to  it  than  there  is  to 
the  polish  or  the  veneer  with  which  the  face  of  furniture  is 
finished.  True,  deeply  felt  courtesy  may  be  impossible  unless 
it  is  reciprocated.  The  buyer  may  be  morose  to  the  verge 
of  being  disagreeable.  In  such  a  case  the  salesman  must  force 
himself  to  be  polite  in  his  manner  and  courteous  in  his  bearing, 
however  much  it  may  go  against  the  grain.  Courtesy  is  part 
of  his  stock-in-trade  that  he  must  carry  with  him;  he  should 
show  it  just  as  he  displays  his  samples.  Buyers  expect  to  be 
treated  courteously  by  right  of  the  position  they  hold.  The 
maintenance  of  a  courteous  bearing  under  circumstances  which 
demand  an  effort  of  will  is  a  means  of  developing  the  imper¬ 
turbable  self-control  which  is  the  mark  of  fine  manners  and 
good  breeding. 

Courtesy  and  politeness  are  the  sunshine  of  business.  The 
sun  shines  not  only  on  the  surface;  its  warmth  goes  much 
deeper.  While  illuminating  the  outside  of  the  man  it  warms 
the  inside  as  well. 


CHAPTER  XXVIII 


THE  FIRE  OF  COURAGE 

Courage  and  Tact. — Two  qualities  have  been  constantly 
mentioned  and  as  constantly  implied  throughout  this  book — 
courage  and  tact.  To  some  extent  they  are  antagonistic  to 
each  other.  The  man  who  is  supremely  tactful  is  rarely  out¬ 
standingly  courageous  and  vice  versa. 

The  man  who  is  inherently  courageous  often  suffers  from 
the  defects  of  this  essential  quality  in  that  his  aggressiveness 
tends  to  make  him  less  adaptable  to  the  feelings  and  the  point 
of  view  of  others.  Conversely,  the  man  who  is  naturally 
sensitive  of  others’  feelings  often  lacks  the  driving  power  of 
the  aggressive  and  forceful  personality.  The  perfect  sales¬ 
man,  if  there  were  such  a  being,  would  blend  these  two  fine 
qualities  in  equal  proportion.  Taken  together  they  imply  the 
essential  qualities  of  a  successful  salesman  so  far  as  the  develop¬ 
ment  of  personality  is  concerned. 

The  First  Aspect  of  Courage — Courage  has  two  aspects — 
daring  and  endurance.  Both  are  needed  by  the  salesman  and 
both  can  be  developed.  Daring  is  that  kind  of  courage  fre¬ 
quently  referred  to  as  “nerve.”  The  man  who  is  equipped 
with  this  variety  is  ready  to  face  a  difficult  prospect  whom  a 
less  intrepid  salesman  would  rather  avoid.  He  is  eager  to 
tackle  big  things  and  is  not  content  to  handle  the  small  cus¬ 
tomer  or  the  easy  trade. 

Nerve  is  a  faculty  possessed  in  some  degree  by  every  busi¬ 
ness  man  who  stands  out  among  his  competitors  as  more  than 


312 


THE  FIRE  OF  COURAGE 


313 


commonly  successful.  His  success  is  in  part  due  to  an  innate 
ability  to  think  over  a  situation  coolly  and  decide  on  the  best 
course  to  adopt  despite  all  risks  or  dangers.  The  daring  sales¬ 
man  who  possesses  nerve  never  allows  himself  to  be  deterred 
from  tackling  a  problem  in  which  the  solution  of  the  difficulty 
demands  courage.  He  knows  he  possesses  the  faculty  of  think¬ 
ing  coolly  yet  quickly ;  therefore  he  rather  courts  the  situation 
in  which  this  quality  will  enable  him  to  succeed  where  the 
average  man  would  probably  fail. 

Never  alone,  however,  unless  fortified  with  personal  attrac¬ 
tiveness,  knowledge,  study,  and  training,  will  not  carry  a  man 
very  far.  Nerve  degenerates  into  bumptiousness  and  irritating 
presumption,  or  even  impudence,  unless  it  is  supported  by  the 
more  tangible  and  definite  qualities  acquired  by  study  and  disci¬ 
pline.  But  the  nerve  that  is  fortified  with  knowledge  and 
practice  of  the  art  of  presenting  an  offer  in  its  most  attractive 
way  will  carry  the  salesman  far. 

The  Second  Aspect  of  Courage. — The  second  aspect  of 
courage  is  shown  in  that  fine  trait  that  we  designate  as  “per¬ 
sistence.”  The  man  who  possesses  or  develops  this  enduring 
courage  never  knows  when  he  is  beaten.  He  persists  in  spite 
of  failure.  In  fact,  failure  acts  merely  as  a  spur  to  further 
effort. 

Every  salesman  expects  failure  from  time  to  time.  It  is 
part  of  his  day’s  work.  By  the  law  of  averages  a  certain 
number  of  customers  will  not  be  in  good  humor,  others  will 
be  too  busy,  others  will  have  just  bought  what  he  has  to  sell, 
and  others  will  refuse  flatly  to  see  any  salesman  about  anything 
unless  an  appointment  is  made.  By  the  same  law  of  averages, 
however,  some  customers  will  be  in  need  of  the  commodity 
he  offers  just  at  the  time  of  his  call,  others  will  be  open  to  con¬ 
viction  that  it  is  the  thing  they  need,  and  others  again  will  make 
a  practice  of  interviewing  every  salesman  who  calls  because 


3i4 


PRINCIPLES  OF  SALESMANSHIP 


they  know  that  the  information  frequently  obtained  by  this 
means  makes  it  well  worth  their  while  to  do  so.  Thus  the 
tenacious  salesman  who  has  courage  that  endures  goes  on  his 
way  despite  rebuffs  and  discouragements  of  every  kind.  As 
with  the  development  of  a  muscle,  the  practice  of  persistence 
leads  to  the  strengthening  of  the  will  to  succeed  in  proportion 
to  the  resistance  experienced. 

Where  Quiet  Persistence  Made  Good. — The  old  adage 

of  the  tortoise  and  the  hare  holds  good  when  applied  to  the 
salesman.  The  man  who  “keeps  plugging  away”  and  is  never 
daunted  by  any  number  of  “turndowns”  will  as  a  rule  come  out 
on  top,  where  the  more  brilliant  man  who  may  be  more  easily 
discouraged  will  fail.  Of  all  mental  attributes  perhaps  the 
courage  of  persistence  is  the  most  valuable. 

The  purchasing  agent  of  a  large  railroad  in  writing  about 
salesmen  he  has  met,  says : 

“I  recall  one  man  who  won  my  admiration  and  later  my 
orders  for  being  a  plugger.  His  first  call  was  to  introduce 
himself  and  his  house  and  he  did  not  directly  ask  for  business. 
On  a  later  call  he  told  me  what  he  could  furnish  and  asked 
for  an  opportunity  to  serve  me.  At  the  time  I  was  bound  by 
contracts  made  by  my  predecessor  and  my  superiors.  He  called 
regularly  at  discreet  intervals  and  was  in  no  way  overanxious, 
but  stated  that  he  was  ready  to  do  business.  He  did  not  resent 
a  contract  which  deprived  him  of  a  chance  to  sell.  He  plugged 
along  and  was  so  pleasant  and  patient  that  I  came  to  admire 
his  perseverance. 

“In  time  he  had  an  opportunity  to  bid  on  a  very  large  job 
which  we  had  going  through.  He  handled  a  type  of  specialty 
which  was  also  made  by  four  other  companies,  and  the  five 
companies  were  to  submit  samples.  The  plugger  lost  out,  but 
he  was  a  graceful  loser  and  smilingly  declared  he  hoped  to  do 
better  next  time.  No  hint  did  he  make  of  unfairness,  and  in 


THE  FIRE  OF  COURAGE 


315 


fact  he  went  so  far  as  to  say  that  the  make  I  selected  was  all 
right.  He  has  now  made  good.  It  was  later  my  pleasure  to 
give  him  a  substantial  portion  of  our  business  in  his  line,  and, 
needless  to  say,  his  prices  were  right  and  his  service  as  faultless 
as  his  manners.” 

The  Specialty  Salesman  Must  be  Persistent — The 

present-day  manager  of  an  important  insurance  company  states 
that  when  he  began  to  work  for  the  company  his  commissions 
during  the  first  three  months  amounted  to  exactly  $10.  Before 
he  started  out  to  solicit  he  firmly  made  up  his  mind  that  even 
if  he  earned  nothing  at  all  for  three  months  he  would  still 
persist,  and  that  he  would  force  himself  to  talk  life  insurance 
at  every  opportunity  until  he  acquired  the  art  of  broaching  the 
subject  with  ease. 

At  first  he  felt  timid  and  nervous  when  approaching  a  pros¬ 
pect.  Yet  he  realized  that  though  he  was  not  making  sales,  he 
was  learning  quite  a  lot  about  meeting  objections,  handling 
different  types  of  customers,  and  gaining  that  courage  which  is 
so  necessary  for  effective  work  in  this  form  of  salesmanship. 
He  did  not  get  discouraged,  nor  did  he  throw  up  his  job  after 
a  week’s  trial,  declaring  that  he  could  not  sell  life  insurance 
because  it  was  the  hardest  thing  on  earth  to  sell;  still  less  did 
he  attribute  his  failure  to  the  fact  that  no  one  wanted  to  buy 
insurance  in  his  particular  town  because  of  bad  trade,  hard 
times,  or  what-not.  He  just  persistently  stuck  to  his  job, 
interviewing  everyone  who  would  listen  to  him  regardless 
of  who  they  were. 

A  year  later  this  same  young  man  who  earned  only  $10 
during  the  first  three  months  because  of  his  timidity  and  his 
lack  of  confidence,  was  drawing  $100  a  week.  The  diffidence 
and  fear  with  which  he  approached  prospects  in  his  early  days 
was  now  replaced  by  a  quiet  readiness  to  tackle  the  hardest  of 
prospects. 


316 


PRINCIPLES  OF  SALESMANSHIP 


The  Cause  and  Control  of  Fear. — There  is  hardly  a 

beginner  who  does  not  experience  a  feeling  of  nervous  dread 
or  tremor  of  fear  when  he  calls  upon  his  first  prospects.  We 
all  dread  the  unfamiliar  and  the  unknown.  The  salesman  suf¬ 
fering  from  this  painful  sensation  in  his  solar  plexus  is  at  a 
great  disadvantage  when  he  approaches  a  customer.  His  man¬ 
ner  shows  plainly  that  he  lacks  confidence  in  himself  and  in  his 
offer;  and  to  the  extent  that  his  fear  is  apparent  he  tends  to 
arouse  distrust  in  the  mind  of  the  buyer. 

The  obvious  remedy  for  lack  of  courage  is  to  create  such 
a  feeling  of  confidence  in  one’s  ability  to  sell  and  to  meet  every 
kind  of  objection  that  this  confidence  ousts  all  fear.  There¬ 
fore  the  timorous  salesman  when  he  approaches  his  first  pros¬ 
pect  in  fear  and  trembling  must  remember  that  his  emotion  is 
simply  due  to  his  lack  of  experience.  After  the  first  few  calls, 
and  especially  after  the  first  sale,  he  will  begin  to  feel  con¬ 
fidence  in  his  ability  to  handle  a  customer;  and  in  measure  as 
he  handles  a  number  of  customers  successfully  so  will  all  fear 
vanish. 

Adequate  Preparation  the  First  Essential. — The  more 

the  salesman  drills  himself  in  the  presentation  of  his  talking 
points  and  in  the  use  of  appropriate  answers  to  objections  that 
are  likely  to  be  raised,  the  more  confidence  will  he  feel  in  his 
ability  to  handle  any  situation  and  the  more  courageously  will 
he  approach  even  the  most  churlish  of  buyers.  It  will  help 
him  in  his  approach  if  he  remembers  that  a  prospect,  no  mat¬ 
ter  how  important  or  of  how  peppery  a  type,  is  after  all  only 
a  human  being  like  himself.  Furthermore,  to  sell  goods  as  he 
himself  is  now  doing  is  the  daily  task  of  thousands  the  world 
over.  He  is  not  asking  a  favor  or  seeking  to  sell  something 
which  is  not  required.  He  is  approaching  a  possible  customer 
who,  when  the  salesman’s  offer  is  thoroughly  understood,  will 
in  the  ordinary  course  of  events  be  glad  to  take  advantage  of  it. 


THE  FIRE  OF  COURAGE 


317 

The  Importance  of  the  First  Sale — A  salesman  tells  the 
following  story  about  his  first  sale : 

“During  a  good  breakfast  while  I  sized  up  my  proposition, 
mentally,  rehearsed  my  sales  talk,  and  thought  of  the  unanswer¬ 
able  nature  of  my  arguments,  I  felt  courageous  and  eager  to 
approach  my  first  prospect.  Breakfast  over,  I  took  a  street 
car  to  the  business  section  where  I  was  going  to  start  opera¬ 
tions.  When  I  got  off  the  car  I  felt  surprised  to  see  the  build¬ 
ing  in  which  my  first  prospect  was  to  be  found  loom  up  in 
front  of  me.  I  began  to  have  qualms  of  fear. 

“To  think  the  matter  over  once  again  I  walked  around  the 
building.  The  comforting  thought  then  came  to  my  mind — 
‘Well,  after  all  the  prospect  may  not  be  in  his  office.’  By  this 
time  I  began  to  feel  mad  with  myself.  Then  I  gripped  myself 
by  the  back  of  my  collar  and  hustled  myself  along  to  the  pros¬ 
pect’s  door. 

“I  asked  the  girl  at  the  information  desk  for  Mr.  Smith, 
hoping  that  he  would  not  be  in.  When  she  asked  for  my  card 
I  felt  bad.  When  she  returned  in  a  few  minutes  to  say  that  if 
I  would  wait  Mr.  Smith  would  see  me  in  a  few  minutes,  I  felt 
better.  While  waiting  I  went  over  my  opening  statement  half 
a  dozen  times  and  impressed  upon  myself  the  importance  of 
entering  with  a  smile,  of  being  deliberate,  and  of  speaking  more 
slowly  than  usual. 

“My  first  customer  happened  to  be  a  genial  type  of  fellow. 
He  greeted  me  with  a  handshake  and  asked  me  to  take  a  seat. 
I  managed  to  open  my  interview,  I  believe,  without  any  trace 
of  fear  and  three  minutes  later  I  had  completely  forgotten  that 
there  was  anything  at  all  to  be  afraid  of  in  the  enthusiasm 
aroused  in  my  mind  by  my  sales  talk.  The  prospect  raised 
several  objections  that  I  was  primed  to  meet  and  that  I  simply 
swept  aside.  This  gave  me  such  confidence  that  half  an  hour 
later  I  left  that  office  with  an  order  in  my  pocket. 

“I  am  glad  to  say  that  this  was  my  first  and  last  ex- 


3i8  principles  of  salesmanship 

perience  of  feeling  afraid  when  approaching  a  prospect.” 

As  in  the  case  of  this  salesman,  lack  of  courage  is  as  a  rule 
due  to  diffidence  and  fear  that  the  sales  arguments  will  prove 
unavailing.  But  if  the  salesman  has  memorized  several  forms 
of  opening  statements  all  designed  to  arouse  attention;  if  he 
remembers  as  he  enters  a  prospect’s  presence  to  smile  and  to 
control  the  muscles  of  his  face;  if  he  takes  pains  to  speak 
slowly  and  deliberately,  knowing  exactly  what  he  is  going  to 
say,  what  points  he  is  going  to  make,  and  in  what  order,  then 
all  fear  and  diffidence  will  quickly  vanish.  A  few  attempts 
will  enable  him  to  acquire  that  confidence  which  is  essential  in 
leading  to  a  successful  sale. 

A 

Truth  of  Statement  Gives  Courage _ The  nervous  and 

diffident  salesman  will  find  it  far  easier  to  acquire  courage 
when  he  enthusiastically  believes  in  the  absolute  truth  of  every 
statement  he  makes.  Enthusiasm,  as  already  emphasized,  is 
based  on  confidence.  Confidence  alone  gives  courage.  If  the 
salesman  thinks  that  he  is  handling  an  inferior  line  of  goods  or 
that  it  is  necessary  for  him  to  make  statements  which  are  untrue 
in  order  to  make  a  sale,  he  would  be  well  advised  to  seek 
another  connection. 

There  are  any  number  of  large  firms  whose  products  are 
the  equal  of  any  of  their  kind  that  are  constantly  on  the  look¬ 
out  for  capable  salesmen.  No  capable  man  need  represent  a 
firm  manufacturing  goods  of  an  inferior  quality  or  a  house 
whose  methods  of  business  will  not  stand  the  strictest  investi¬ 
gation.  Before  the  salesman  starts  out  on  his  morning  round 
he  must  be  able  mentally  to  convince  himself  that  his  product 
has  certain  advantages  which  make  it  at  least  equal  to  anything 
else  on  the  market.  In  other  words,  he  must  sell  himself 
before  he  begins  his  day’s  work  of  selling  to  others — otherwise 
he  will  lack  the  enthusiasm  which  is  like  a  forced  draft  to  the 
fire  of  courage. 


THE  FIRE  OF  COURAGE 


3:9 


The  Effect  of  Untruth  on  the  Repeat  Order. — The  im¬ 
portance  of  absolute  truth  and  honesty  of  statement  will  be 
realized  if  the  salesman  remembers  that  any  mistatement  will 
react  unfavorably  upon  him  when  he  makes  a  second  call  on 
the  same  customer.  If  the  first  sale  is  made  by  means  of  mis¬ 
representation,  courage  will  certainly  be  lacking  when  the  time 
comes  to  face  a  customer  with  a  view  to  a  repeat  order.  Many 
a  salesman  is  led  to  misrepresent  goods  in  his  eagerness  to 
make  a  sale.  If  a  sale  cannot  be  made  by  honest  statements 
and  honest  principles,  it  is  far  better  not  made. 

The  fellow  with  a  glib  tongue  and  pleasing  address,  who 
makes  a  good  first  impression  and  then  talks  the  prospect  into 
buying  by  means  of  misrepresentation,  cannot  return  year  in 
and  year  out  to  the  same  clients.  The  spell  of  his  personality 
vanishes  before  the  fact  of  the  inferiority  of  his  goods.  Such 
a  salesman  never  has  the  courage  to  meet  the  customer  twice. 
On  the  other  hand,  the  salesman  who  tells  the  truth  and  nothing 
but  the  truth  about  his  goods,  even  at  the  risk  of  losing  an 
order,  so  inspires  confidence  that  he  is  welcomed  and  given  such 
business  as  can  be  profitably  granted  him. 

Every  business  thrives  on  the  repeat  order  and  there  is 
nothing  that  will  make  repeat  orders  more  difficult  to  secure 
than  misrepresentation  or  exaggerated  description  which 
deceives  the  customer  as  to  the  merits  and  qualities  of  the 
goods.  To  sell  by  deceiving  the  customer  is  suicidal  for  the 
salesman  and,  worse  still,  for  his  employer. 

Aim  at  Big  Game,  but  Don’t  Forget  the  Small. — The 

salesman  who  honestly  believes  in  the  merits  of  his  wares  and 
who  also  takes  pride  in  the  thought  that  he  is  equipped  to  meet 
every  type  of  buyer,  will  find  that  his  courage  increases  in  pro¬ 
portion  as  he  aims  at  big  game.  It  is  human  nature  to  prefer 
to  tackle  the  man  who  is  easily  approached  because  of  the 
relative  unimportance  of  his  business  and  to  think  that  a  num- 


320 


PRINCIPLES  OF  SALESMANSHIP 


ber  of  small  orders  are  just  as  good  as  a  single  large  order. 
The  courageous  salesman,  however,  does  not  deceive  himself 
with  this  form  of  reasoning.  The  larger  his  orders  the  more 
valuable  he  becomes  to  his  house.  The  bigger  the  way  in  which 
a  prospect  carries  on  business  the  better  for  his  firm.  The 
big  customer  may  be  a  little  more  difficult  to  approach  than  the 
small  man;  the  salesman  may  have  to  make  several  calls  before 
he  finds  him  unoccupied  and  willing  to  grant  an  interview ;  but 
when  once  in  his  presence  the  chance  of  making  a  sale  is  just 
as  great  if  not  greater  than  when  smaller  game  is  tackled. 

Most  business  houses  confine  the  work  of  their  junior  sales¬ 
men  to  their  less  important  customers,  while  the  bigger  game 
are  left  to  the  care  of  men  who  have  had  years  of  experience 
on  the  road.  The  young  salesman  may  by  means  of  training 
in  the  factory  know  just  as  much  about  the  goods  as  the  older 
man.  But  years  of  experience  on  the  road  have  given  the 
older  man  that  confidence  in  his  ability  to  handle  any  situation 
and  meet  any  type  of  customer  which  works  out  in  courage. 
The  young  salesman  will  most  quickly  acquire  this  courage  by 
using  every  opportunity  to  aim  at  big  game. 

This  does  not  mean  that  the  small  is  to  be  ignored  or 
despised;  not  only  in  learning  the  art  of  salesmanship  but  all 
through  one’s  career  the  small  men  deserve  attention  and 
respect.  Further,  the  man  who  confines  himself  to  big  buyers 
may  not  actually  earn  as  much  as  one  who  takes  a  number  of 
small  orders.  The  big  fellows  were  small  once,  and  today’s 
small  ones  will  be  tomorrow’s  big  ones. 

The  Discipline  of  Facing  Disagreeable  Prospects.- — 

The  salesman  also  develops  his  courage  when  he  forces  him¬ 
self  to  interview  a  man  whom  he  knows  to  be  a  disagreeable 
prospect  and  whom  in  consequence  he  would  rather  avoid. 
This  is  a  form  of  self-discipline  which  will  react  on  the  sales¬ 
man  in  many  favorable  ways.  To  tackle  one  buyer  who  is 


THE  FIRE  OF  COURAGE 


321 


difficult  to  approach  and  known  to  be  a  grouch  and  then  sell 
to  him,  has  a  better  effect  upon  the  salesman’s  courage  than  a 
score  of  successes  gained  without  the  overcoming  of  any  seri¬ 
ous  obstacles.  If  he  is  successful  in  such  an  interview,  the 
success  will  make  it  easier  for  him  when  the  time  comes  to  face 
another  difficult  customer.  If  he  fails,  the  failure  after  all  is 
part  of  his  day’s  work  and  the  mere  fact  that  he  has  tackled 
a  formidable  prospect  and  come  out  unscathed  will  stiffen  his 
courage  for  subsequent  interviews. 

A  salesman  selling  advertising  for  a  well-known  periodical 
was  about  to  make  his  first  call  on  a  customer.  Among  the 
list  of  prospects  handed  to  him  was  the  name  of  one  with  a 
reputation  for  hectoring  and  bullying.  He  had  formerly 
advertised  with  the  magazine,  but  for  reasons  which  he  would 
not  definitely  state  he  had  discontinued  his  advertisements. 
When  salesmen  from  the  periodical  called  on  him  he  frequently 
received  them,  but  merely  to  give  them,  with  undue  emphasis 
and  sarcasm,  his  opinion  as  to  the  futility  of  advertising  in 
general  and  the  advertising  of  their  magazine  in  particular. 

Despite  the  warnings  of  his  fellow  salesmen,  the  novice 
determined  to  approach  his  worst  customer  first.  Though  he 
entered  Mr.  Blank’s  presence  with  his  heart  thumping  some¬ 
where  near  his  shoes,  his  opening  greeting  was  as  follows : 

“Mr.  Blank,  half  the  men  in  our  office  are  scared  to  face 
you  and  I  have  heard  all  about  your  methods  of  turning  us 
down.  I  know  that  you  don’t  believe  in  advertising  and  that 
you  say  you  will  never  advertise  in  our  magazine  again.  So 
I  have  come  here  this  morning  to  try  and  find  out  what  actually 
are  your  objections.  I  don’t  expect  you  to  sign  a  contract  for 
a  dozen  pages  or  for  even  one  page,  but  I  do  expect  and  hope 
you  will  teach  me  something.  If  I  can  learn  how  to  meet  your 
objections  I  expect  I  can  deal  with  almost  anybody  else.  If  I 
cannot  meet  them,  it  will  have  been  a  good  experience  for  me 
to  have  faced  you,  so  now  go  ahead.” 


322 


PRINCIPLES  OF  SALESMANSHIP 


The  blustering  manner  of  Mr.  Blank  changed  before  the 
cheerfulness  of  this  frank  and  open  approach. 

“My  only  objection  to  your  publication  was  that  I  adver¬ 
tised  in  it  and  it  didn’t  bring  results.  Therefore,  whenever 
one  of  your  men  called,  asking  me  to  renew  my  contract,  I 
thought  of  the  money  I  had  wasted  in  your  publication  and  this 
made  me  angry.” 

“I  appreciate  your  point  of  view,  Mr.  Blank,”  replied  the 
salesman.  “Some  of  our  advertisers  who  have  contracted  for 
space  year  by  year  were  at  first  disappointed  with  their  results. 
You  know  as  a  business  man  that  it  is  impossible  for  any  publi¬ 
cation  to  guarantee  to  produce  customers.  All  that  it  can  do 
is  to  guarantee  its  circulation  and  offer  the  best  service  possible 
to  produce  the  desired  effect.  Now,  I  can’t  guarantee  results. 
But  what  I  would  like  to  do  is  to  have  the  opportunity  of  map¬ 
ping  out  a  new  plan  of  campaign  which  I  believe  will  appeal  to 
you  better  than  the  last.  Then,  if  you  agree  that  it  looks  more 
attractive  and  has  more  possibilities  in  it,  you  may  like  to  try 
it  out.  But  I  won’t  ask  you  to  consider  anything  until  I  can 
show  you  something  that  will  interest  you  and  that  you  will 
believe  is  worth  a  trial.” 

When  the  young  salesman  left  he  was  without  his  order, 
but  he  had  a  promise  from  his  client  to  reconsider  his  decision 
if  the  new  series  of  advertisements  which  were  to  be  drawn  up 
met  with  his  approval.  In  addition  to  this  promise  the  sales¬ 
man  left  with  much  greater  confidence  in  his  ability  to  meet  any 
situation  that  might  call  for  courage. 

The  Self-Discipline  of  Courage  Produces  Initiative. — 

The  salesman  who  tries  to  develop  courage  and  endurance  will 
find  that  insensibly  he  begins  to  reveal  the  desirable  character¬ 
istic  of  initiative.  All  men  who  achieve  something  out  of  the 
ordinary  possess  this  trait  in  a  high  degree.  Their  incomes,  if 
they  are  salesmen  or  follow  a  commercial  pursuit,  are  larger — 
often  much  larger — than  the  incomes  of  those  who  lack  the 


THE  FIRE  OF  COURAGE 


323 


ability  to  lead.  Their  striking  success  is  not  wholly  due  to 
their  honesty  or  to  their  loyalty,  although  both  of  these  traits 
count  heavily.  They  forge  ahead  of  others  because  their 
initiative  impels  them  to  do  a  great  deal  more  than  they  are 
told  to  do  and  more  than  is  a  regular  part  of  their  duty. 

Everybody  can  do  what  he  is  told  to  do,  obey  orders.  Only 
a  minority  display  initiative  and  do  more  than  is  expected  of 
them.  The  salesman  can  begin  by  manifesting  initiatives  in 
little  things.  First  of  all,  he  becomes  more  familiar  with  the 
goods  which  he  sells  and  with  the  business  in  general  than  he 
is  required  to  be.  He  uses  his  spare  time  to  familiarize  him¬ 
self  not  only  with  ordinary  conditions,  but  with  everything 
pertaining  to  the  business  inside  and  out.  This  preparatory 
work  equips  him  to  seize  opportunities  that  otherwise  he  would 
miss  and  then  his  courage  impels  him  to  grasp  them  and 
improve  upon  them. 

Example  of  Initiative — A  traveling  salesman  represent¬ 
ing  a  flour  manufacturer  visited  a  town  in  the  Middle  West 
which  had  just  experienced  a  flood.  Hundreds  of  families 
were  homeless  and  without  resources.  The  salesman’s  busi¬ 
ness  was  largely  with  one  buyer,  a  grocer,  whose  premises  had 
been  completely  swept  away.  The  man  had  formerly  been  a 
good  customer  of  the  firm  and  prompt  in  his  payments,  but 
such  was  the  loss  that  he  had  incurred  and  so  serious  seemed 
to  be  the  inevitable  interruption  to  his  trade  that  ruin  stared 
him  in  the  face.  When  the  salesman  called  on  the  dealer  he 
found  him  in  the  depths  of  despondency  and  with  no  sugges¬ 
tions  to  make  as  to  the  rebuilding  of  his  vanished  business. 

Without  waiting  to  consult  his  house  the  salesman  first  of 
all  promised  a  big  extension  of  credit.  He  then  offered  on 
his  own  responsibility  and  on  behalf  of  his  firm  to  donate  a 
quantity  of  flour  for  the  relief  of  the  inhabitants  if  the  grocer 
would  consult  with  other  business  men  of  the  community  and 
form  a  relief  committee.  He  procured  from  the  grocer  a  list 


324 


PRINCIPLES  OF  SALESMANSHIP 


of  the  firms  which  had  been  supplying  him  with  other  lines  of 
his  stock,  and  to  each  he  sent  a  wire  briefly  stating  the  nature 
of  the  disaster  and  asking  both  for  contributions  and  for  an 
extension  of  credit.  As  the  floods  in  question  had  aroused 
the  sympathetic  patriotism  of  the  nation,  these  requests  were 
promptly  acceded  to.  The  salesman  spent  over  $100  in  tele¬ 
grams,  but  before  his  day’s  work  was  completed  he  had  secured 
over  $5,000  in  promises  of  help  for  the  town,  and  extensions 
of  credit  for  the  dealer  which  made  it  possible  for  him  to  build 
up  a  new  business  and  look  the  future  in  the  face. 

When  the  members  of  the  firm  heard  of  the  measures  their 
salesman  had  taken,  he  received  their  hearty  commendation. 
The  house  trusted  the  judgment  of  its  representative,  it  felt 
proud  of  the  initiative  he  had  revealed,  and  his  action  was 
approved  of  in  every  way. 

Initiative  of  this  kind,  which  was  founded  on  the  courage 
of  facing  a  disastrous  situation  with  vigorous  promptitude, 
resulted  in  material  advantage  to  the  community,  in  the  rebuild¬ 
ing  of  the  retailer’s  business,  and  in  the  enhancement  of  the 
salesman’s  prestige  as  a  man  of  resource  and  strong  character. 

Exercising  Initiative  Develops  Judgment. — Judgment 

presupposes  the  ability  to  weigh  up  the  advantages  for  and 
against  a  proposition  and  then  decide  as  to  the  best  course  to 
pursue.  It  is  obvious  that  before  judgment  can  be  revealed 
a  course  of  action  must  be  decided  upon.  Judgment  is  there¬ 
fore  the  necessary  corollary  to  initiative.  If  we  first  manifest 
the  courage  of  initiative  and  then  profit  by  our  mistakes, 
insensibly  the  powers  of  judgment  are  developed.  The  timor¬ 
ous  man  who  is  excessively  cautious  when  an  opportunity 
presents  itself  to  display  initiative  and  to  exercise  his  judgment 
discloses  the  weakness  of  procrastination.  His  caution  needs 
to  be  fortified  by  courage  if  he  is  to  stand  forth  as  a  man  of 
sound  judgment. 


CHAPTER  XXIX 


THE  LUBRICANT  OF  TACT 

Definition  of  Tact. — Tact  is  the  complement  of  courage 
and  is  the  final  requisite  for  rounding  out  the  forceful  per¬ 
sonality.  Tact  is  the  intellectual  quality  as  courage  is  the 
moral  quality  of  the  successful  salesman.  It  is  the  lubricant 
which  takes  the  creaks  and  jars  and  the  dangers  of  friction 
out  of  the  critical  situation.  The  tactless  salesman  will  find 
that  sand  has  a  way  of  eating  into  the  bearings  of  his  point  of 
contact  with  the  customer.  His  enthusiasm  may  be  working 
at  high  pressure  under  a  full  head  of  steam;  his  courage  may 
give  him  immense  driving  power;  his  sales  talk  may  form  a 
perfect  piece  of  mechanism;  but  if  he  lacks  tact  his  work  will 
fail — just  as  a  piece  of  machinery,  however  carefully  put 
together,  fails  to  act  without  lubrication.  Or  if  it  works  at 
all  it  will  be  painfully/  with  much  creaking  and  groaning. 

Tact  is  that  mental  alertness  which  enables  us  to  say  and 
do  what  is  best  under  the  circumstances.  Every  chapter  in 
this  work  has  been  more  or  less  a  lesson  in  tact.  When  an 
appeal  is  made  to  the  right  buying  motive,  tact  is  shown  in  the 
adaption  of  the  selling  talk  to  the  mental  attitude  of  the  buyer. 
When  manner  and  method  are  varied  to  suit  a  buyer  of  peculiar 
temperament,  the  same  tact  is  displayed.  Tact  implies  patience, 
cheerfulness,  courtesy,  gracious  acceptance  of  an  inevitable 
situation,  close  observation,  the  power  of  quick  decision  as  to 
the  best  thing  to  do  or  to  say,  and  every  mental  quality  which 
conduces  to  the  harmony  of  an  interview.  In  its  essence  it  is 
the  ability  to  sense  the  thoughts,  feelings,  or  emotions  of  others 
so  that  nothing  in  word  or  deed  antagonizes. 

325 


326 


PRINCIPLES  OF  SALESMANSHIP 


Tact  Is  Revealed  in  Little  Things. — Tact  is  so  all- 

pervading  and  yet  so  intangible  in  its  nature  that  it  can  be 
shown  in  many  unobtrusive  ways.  The  most  obvious  is  to 
refrain  from  doing  or  saying  anything  which  will  hurt  the 
feelings  of  others  and  to  do  everything  to  put  others  at  their 
ease.  Many  people  are  deficient  in  tact  because  they  have  not 
the  imagination  to  realize  how  their  thoughtless  remarks  or 
unconsidered  acts  hurt  more  sensitive  natures.  One  must 
intuitively  sympathize  with  another  person’s  weaknesses  or 
deficiencies  to  be  really  tactful.  A  critical  or  contemptuous 
attitude  of  mind  kills  the  sympathy  of  understanding. 

A  lady  entered  a  millinery  store  to  buy  a  hat.  In  comparison 
with  her  height  her  head  was  unusually  large  and  she  seemed 
to  be  sensitive  at  the  thought  of  drawing  attention  to  what  in 
her  mind  seemed  a  physical  defect.  Half  apologetically  she 
said  to  the  saleswoman : 

“I  don’t  know  whether  or  not  you  can  fit  me  because  my 
head  is  so  large.  I  always  have  a  dreadful  time  finding  some¬ 
thing  I  can  wear.” 

The  quick-witted  saleswoman  at  once  brought  out  a  hat 
that  was  too  large  for  the  customer,  saying,  “We  have  many 
customers  who  need  hats  rather  larger  than  the  usual  size  and 
this  is  by  no  means  our  largest.  Will  you  try  this  one  on, 
Madam?” 

The  tactful  action  and  these  few  words  sufficed  not  only 
to  relieve  the  customer  of  her  embarrassment  but  to  free 
her  mind  from  the  impression  that  the  size  of  her  head  was 
in  any  way  abnormal.  The  saleswoman  possessed  that  intui¬ 
tive  sympathy  which  enabled  her  to  place  herself  in  the  position 
of  another  person. 

The  Tactful  Salesman  Is  Never  Contentious. — The  tact¬ 
ful  salesman  cultivates  the  art  of  saying  a  difficult  or  contra¬ 
dictory  thing  in  a  pleasing  way  which  cannot  cause  offense. 


THE  LUBRICANT  OF  TACT 


327 


As  much  as  possible  he  avoids  topics  which  lead  to  contention. 
When  opposition  is  unavoidable,  under  no  circumstance  does 
he  ever  betray  any  irritability  in  voice  or  manner,  or  indicate 
that  he  is  finding  it  difficult  to  keep  his  temper  under  control. 

Tact  enables  the  salesman  to  tell  when  it  is  necessary  to 
humor  a  customer’s  prejudice  or  to  concede  the  truth  of  cer¬ 
tain  arguments  which  in  some  way  minimize  the  value  of  the 
offer.  Such  concessions  often  inspire  far  more  confidence 
than  contradictory  statements,  however  well  reasoned.  The 
tactful  salesman  is  always  willing  to  concede  non-essentials,  if 
by  so  doing  he  can  accentuate  the  importance  of  vital  things. 

Tact  Essential  in  Breaking  Down  Prejudice. — The 

irritable,  domineering  type  of  buyer  is  frequently  unreasonable 
in  his  prejudice.  Only  a  salesman  of  consummate  tact,  who 
is  sensitive  to  every  mood,  is  competent  to  deal  with  the  person 
who  shows  a  marked  prejudice  out  of  mere  contrariness. 

A  dealer  who  had  been  bombarded  with  descriptive  litera¬ 
ture  of  an  adding  machine  became  irritated.  He  believed  he 
had  no  use  for  the  device;  he  resented  in  his  own  mind  the  fact 
that  his  desk  was  littered  with  circulars  that  he  thought  were 
of  no  interest  and  that  in  consequence  promptly  found  their 
way  into  the  waste  basket. 

When  the  adding  machine  salesman  called,  the  prospect’s 
greeting  ran  :  “I  am  not  interested  in  your  machine.  Be  good 
enough  to  tell  your  mailing  department  not  to  pester  me  any 
more  with  their  circulars.  I  have  no  use  for  such  a  device.” 
He  was  too  much  of  a  gentleman  to  say,  “And  now  get  out,” 
but  his  manner  implied  it. 

The  salesman  realized  that  if  his  offer  was  to  be  given 
impartial  consideration  he  must  jump  right  into  his  proposi¬ 
tion.  Argumentative  assertion  must  at  all  costs  be  avoided 
and  a  tactful  appeal  made  to  the  customer’s  self-interest  in  his 
opening  sentence. 


328 


PRINCIPLES  OF  SALESMANSHIP 


“Mr.  Jones,”  he  said,  smilingly  and  in  a  suave  voice  which 
compelled  attention,  “you  would  appreciate  the  value  of  a  pencil 
that  would  write  down  any  sum  of  figures  you  wanted  it  to 
write  and  would  then  add  them  up  of  its  own  accord,  would 
you  not?” 

The  irritable  prospect  consented  grudgingly  that  such  a 
pencil  as  described  by  the  salesman  would  be  a  useful  tool  for 
any  office  desk. 

“Well,”  replied  the  salesman  with  the  enthusiasm  of  man¬ 
ner  that  rarely  fails  to  awaken  interest,  “that  is  just  what  my 
machine  will  do  for  you.  But  it  will  not  only  add  with  abso¬ 
lute  accuracy;  it  will  divide,  it  will  subtract,  and  it  will  even 
multiply.  In  fact  it  will  do  in  an  hour  as  much  work  for  you, 
and  much  more  accurate  work,  than  any  clerk  can  do  in  a  day. 
It  saves  its  cost  in  wages  alone  within  a  year.  It  makes  pos¬ 
sible  the  compiling  of  statements  that  you  will  find  invaluable 
in  managing  your  business.  Let  me  show  you  not  one  or  a 
half  a  dozen,  but  a  score  of  different  ways  in  which  you  will 
find  the  device  useful.  Just  give  me  five  minutes  and  I’ll  con¬ 
vince  you  that  my  machine  will  pay  for  its  cost  ten  times  over.” 

As  in  this  example,  the  tactful  salesman  never  recognizes 
irritation  in  others  by  answering  a  petulant  argument  with  an 
open  contradiction.  On  the  contrary,  he  tries  indirectly  to 
refute  the  weakness  or  unreasonableness  of  his  prospect’s 
opposition. 

Tact  Senses  Hopeless  Antagonism. — Certain  natures  are 
instinctively  antagonistic  and  any  effort  to  bridge  the  gulf, 
however  tactfully  made,  leaves  a  feeling  of  constraint.  The 
tactful  salesman  can  always  sense  when  his  personality  jars  on 
another.  In  such  circumstances  he  keeps  himself  in  the  back¬ 
ground  as  much  as  possible  and  makes  no  attempt  to  place  the 
interview  upon  a  footing  of  geniality.  Instead,  every  effort 
is  bent  on  switching  the  mind  of  the  prospect  from  the  sales- 


THE  LUBRICANT  OF  TACT 


329 


man’s  personality  and  his  appearance  to  the  sales  talk  and  the 
goods.  He  at  once  plunges  into  his  argument;  if  he  has  any 
samples  he  displays  them  as  quickly  as  possible;  and  he  elimi¬ 
nates  the  “I”  and  his  own  views  and  opinions  from  the  conver¬ 
sation.  In  so  far  as  he  succeeds  in  transferring  the  situation 
of  the  buyer  from  himself  to  his  goods,  the  interview  progresses 
favorably. 

Many  salesmen  make  the  mistake  of  trying  to  thaw  or  to 
warm  up  the  man  who  is  cold  and  refuses  to  be  genial.  When 
the  customer’s  unwilling  mood  is  tactlessly  ignored  and  an 
attempt  is  made  to  thrust  the  salesman’s  personality  forward, 
any  possible  chance  of  making  a  sale  vanishes. 

Tact  Recognizes  the  Hopeless  Prospect. — Occasionally 
the  salesman’s  visit  will  be  found  to  be  inopportune.  There 
is  a  right  time  and  a  wrong  time  for  any  interview  and  the 
tactful  salesman  never  wastes  his  own  and  his  customer’s 
time  by  insisting  upon  talking  at  the  wrong  moment. 

A  dealer,  for  example,  may  be  waiting  upon  customers;  a 
buyer  may  be  dictating  to  his  stenographer  or  preparing  to 
leave  the  office ;  or  an  accumulation  of  papers  on  the  desk  may 
indicate  that  the  business  man  is  more  anxious  to  get  on  with 
his  work  than  he  is  to  listen  to  the  salesman.  Under  these 
circumstances  the  tactful  salesman  quickly  sums  up  the  situa¬ 
tion  and  decides  whether  it  is  better  to  wait  until  he  can  have 
the  undivided  attention  of  the  prospect  or  to  ask  for  another 
appointment  and  then  withdraw. 

After  the  interview  begins  the  tactful  salesman  feels 
whether  or  not  his  talk  is  convincing.  He  quickly  recognizes 
when  he  is  in  the  presence  of  a  stubborn,  obstinate  type  of 
person  who  has  firmly  decided  not  to  allow  the  argument  to 
influence  him  in  his  determination  not  to  buy.  Under  these 
circumstances  he  does  not  blindly  and  pertinaciously  continue 
his  argument ;  he  comes  straight  to  the  point  by  asking  whether 


330 


PRINCIPLES  OF  SALESMANSHIP 


it  is  a  waste  of  time  for  him  to  continue  his  sales  talk.  But 
he  does  this  apparently  tactless  thing  with  such  tactful  sincerity 
and  openness  that  the  customer  instead  of  being  offended  is 
rather  disarmed.  In  many  cases  tact  of  this  kind  dissolves 
antagonism  and  transforms  a  man  who  has  obstinately  deter¬ 
mined  not  to  be  convinced  into  a  reasonable  human  being  who 
is  willing  to  give  a  fair  hearing  to  the  proposition. 

Tact  in  Its  Negative  Aspect. — As  the  whole  purpose  of 
this  book  is  more  or  less  a  study  of  the  art  of  manifesting 
tact,  the  subject  may  be  concluded  with  a  brief  summary  of 
the  negative  aspect  of  tact. 

Mere  obsequiousness  is  not  tact.  Flattery  is  not  tact.  To 
try  always  to  please  and  ingratiate  oneself  is  not  necessarily 
tact.  Success  in  salesmanship  implies  the  ability  to  make 
people  do  what  the  salesman  wants  them  to  do.  Often  he 
finds  he  is  faced  with  strong  opposition  that  calls  for  all  his 
fighting  qualities.  But  because  these  very  fighting  qualities  are 
used  discreetly,  he  does  not  lose  the  respect  of  his  opponent, 
but  on  the  contrary  wins  admiration  and  frequently  liking. 

Tact  does  not  always  imply  stating  the  plain  and  unvar¬ 
nished  truth,  yet  the  man  who  lies  has  no  tact.  Tact  does  not 
always  entail  an  absolutely  accurate  description;  yet  the  man 
who  exaggerates  lacks  tact.  In  short,  this  essential  qualifica¬ 
tion  of  tact  implies  the  ability  to  look  through  the  eyes  of  the 
listener;  to  tell  him  what  he  would  like  to  know  so  far  as 
truth  permits;  to  sympathize  with  him  in  his  mental  attitude; 
to  weigh  up  the  advantages,  for  and  against,  of  seeking  to  lead 
the  customer  either  by  reason  or  persuasion  or  of  driving  him 
by  the  strength  of  personality — and  to  act  accordingly.  This 
summarizes  the  whole  art  of  tactful  salesmanship. 

Business  Ethics. — When  all  is  said  and  done,  to  be  tact¬ 
ful  is  to  be  a  gentleman,  and  to  be  a  gentleman  is  to  be  a  man 


THE  LUBRICANT  OF  TACT 


331 


of  honor,  one  who  does  nothing  that  can  hurt  and  everything 
that  can  help  those  with  whom  he  is  associated. 

Civilizatiion  is  constructive,  its  purpose  is  the  betterment 
of  life  in  material,  intellectual,  and  moral  conditions.  The 
salesman  is  one  of  the  most  potent  forces  of  the  modern  world 
in  furthering  this  work  of  improving  the  material  and  in¬ 
tellectual  well-being  of  the  community.  Every  electric  iron 
that  is  sold,  every  encyclopedia  that  is  purchased,  every  sale 
of  a  commodity  that  represents  true  value,  in  an  atom  of 
energy  exerted  toward  the  advancement  of  individual  and  public 
welfare. 

The  moral  influence  of  the  salesman  is  as  great  and  as 
important  as  his  material  and  intellectual  power.  By  deceit 
or  trickery  or  exaggeration  he  can  destroy  fellowship  and  all 
that  civilization  is  striving  to  build  up.  By  helpful  and 
straight-forward  advice  and  counsel  he  can  construct  a  valu¬ 
able  share  of  the  great  edifice  of  the  world  brotherhood.  Each 
sale  he  makes  can  contribute  to  the  customer’s  faith,  confidence, 
and  reliance  in  the  world  about  him. 

There  is  an  old  story  of  three  men  at  work  in  the  quarry. 
On  being  asked  what  they  were  doing,  the  first  replied,  “I  am 
making  $5  a  day” ;  the  second,  “I  am  cutting  stone” ;  but  the 
third,  “I  am  building  a  Temple  to  the  Spirit  of  Freedom.” 


APPENDIX  A 


QUESTIONS  AND  PROBLEMS 

CHAPTER  I — The  Study  and  Practice  of  the  Art  of  Salesmanship 

1.  If  you  are  a  salesman,  answer  the  following  questions  about 
your  offering.  (If  you  are  not  a  salesman,  answer  all  you  can  about 
any  common  article.) 

(a)  Where  is  it  made? 

(b)  What  is  it  made  of? 

(c)  Why  is  it  made  of  that  material? 

(d)  How  long  will  it  last? 

(e)  Why  will  it  last  so  long? 

(f)  Why  is  it  better  than  others? 

(g)  What  will  it  do? 

(h)  Who  can  use  it? 

(i)  Where  can  you  find  prospects? 

(j)  How  can  you  sell  more? 

(k)  What  does  it  cost  per  unit  to  sell? 

(l)  How  does  your  selling  expense  compare  with  other  salesmen’s 

expenses  ? 

2.  In  fifty  words,  present  a  persuasive  reason  why  a  prospect  should 
buy : 

(a)  A  low-priced  automobile. 

(b)  A  high-priced  automobile. 

(c)  A  radio  set. 

(d)  A  hair  net. 

(e)  An  oriental  rug. 

(f)  A  pocket  flashlight. 

(g)  Some  other  article  xvhich  you  are  selling  or  in  which  you  are 

interested. 

3.  An  ill-tempered,  quick-acting  buyer  has  been  insisting  on  having 
special  concessions  as  to  terms.  The  salesman  must  tell  him  that  his 
request  is  unreasonable  and  cannot  be  granted.  How  can  he  do  this 
tactfully : — use  the  words  you  would  use  in  such  a  case. 

4.  Illustrate  the  use  of  courage  in  selling  goods. 


333 


334 


APPENDIX 


5.  As  a  test  of  imagination,  describe  how  you  would  go  about 
locating  prospects  for : 

(a)  Typewriters. 

(b)  Stained  glass  windows. 

(c)  Cement. 

(d)  Mandarin  coats. 

(e)  Book  of  fairy  stories. 

(f)  Tennis  balls. 

6.  If  you  were  a  sales  manager,  what  steps  would  you  take  to 
encourage  your  traveling  salesman  to  be  industrious  ? 

7.  Give  an  example  of  the  exercise  of  salesmanship  in  other  than 
the  commonly  understood  manner  of  selling  goods : 

(a)  From  ancient  history. 

(b)  From  modern  history. 

(c)  From  literature. 

8.  As  a  test  of  ability  to  impart  knowledge  to  others,  define  in  your 
own  language  the  following : 

(a)  Salesmanship. 

(b)  Personality. 

(c)  Imagination. 

(d)  Perseverance. 

(e)  A  chair. 

(f)  A  room. 

(g)  A  street. 

(h)  A  town. 

( i )  A  nation. 

9.  Do  you  think  you  have  sales  ability?  Why? 

CHAPTER  II— Motives  Behind  All  Buying 

1.  Explain  what  a  “buying  motive”  is  according  to  the  considera¬ 
tion  of  it  in  this  chapter. 

2.  Name  five  of  the  more  important  motives. 

3.  Name  three  articles  the  purchase  of  which  will  satisfy  each  of 
these  buying  motives. 

4.  What  motives  can  commonly  be  appealed  to  in  selling  the  fol¬ 
lowing  ? 

(a)  Gas  stove. 

(b)  Coal  stove. 

(c)  Electric  stove. 

(d)  Dress  suit. 


QUESTIONS  AND  PROBLEMS 


335 


(e)  Toys. 

(f)  Tobacco. 

(g)  Work  shirt. 

(h)  Sextant. 

(i)  Garden  bulbs. 

5.  What  buying  motives  would  you  appeal  to  in  the  following  cases  ? 

(a)  Selling  a  house  as  an  investment. 

(b)  Selling  a  house  to  live  in. 

(c)  Selling  a  two-family  house  to  live  in  and  as  an  investment. 

(d)  Selling  a  merchant  a  new  showcase  for  his  store. 

(e)  One  hundred  textbooks  to  a  school  principal. 

(f)  Selling  a  player  piano  to  a  young  married  couple  neither  of 

whom  play. 

(g)  Selling  a  summer  camp  to  a  family  man. 

(h)  Selling  an  exclusive  agency  for  collars  to  a  men’s  furnishing  store. 

(i)  Selling  an  expensive  desk  to  a  small  business  man. 

6.  To  what  should  the  salesman  first  make  an  appeal — how  can 
he  do  it? 

7.  How  may  the  salesman  determine  what  buying  motive  to 
appeal  to? 

8.  Which  of  the  following  appeals  are  good  and  which  are  weak? 

(a)  An  insurance  salesman  said,  “Your  principal  is  safe  even  if  you 

do  get  very  little  interest.” 

(b)  An  animal  dealer,  showing  a  dog  to  a  lady,  said,  “You’ll  find  he 

doesn’t  bite  and  he  won’t  bark  all  night.” 

(c)  A  ladies’  tailor  showing  some  material  to  a  young  lady  who 

dresses  in  the  height  of  fashion  said,  “This  material  will  wear 
like  iron ;  the  pattern  is  conservative  so  will  not  become  too 
much  out  of  fashion.” 

(d)  A  jeweler  showing  a  pearl  necklace  places  it  around  the  cus¬ 

tomer’s  neck  and  says,  “Just  look  in  the  mirror,  Mrs.  Robbins. 
Those  beautiful  pearls  certainly  look  charming  on  you.” 

9.  How  would  you  strengthen  the  weak  appeals  in  question  8? 

CHAPTER  III — The  Customer’s  Mental  Journey 

1.  Analyze  the  episodes  contained  in  the  following  collateral  reading 
for  Chapter  I:  “Oliver  Twist,”  Chapter  47;  “The  Adventures  of  Tom 
Sawyer,”  Chapter  2;  “Julius  Ceasar,”  Act  III,  Scene  2,  and  show  how 
attention,  interest,  desire,  and  action  are  secured,  also  state  when  these 
mental  stages  may  be  considered  as  secured,  and  why  you  think  so. 

2.  Analyze  the  following  sale,  showing  where  the  mental  steps  are 


336 


APPENDIX 


developed.  A  wholesale  hardware  salesman  calls  on  a  hardwareman  in 
a  small  town  in  Maine.  After  the  customary  greeting,  he  says,  “What 
do  you  think  of  this  new  pocket  tool  set,  Mr.  Blake?”  The  buyer 
makes  a  general  non-committal  reply  after  which  the  salesman  remarks 
that  he  has  a  reduced  price  on  roofing  material. 

The  buyer  immediately  asks  for  it  and  after  some  discussion  says, 
“Next  time  I’m  in  the  market,  I’ll  think  of  you,  but  there’s  nothing 
else  I  need  at  this  time  and  it  isn’t  worth  sending  that  by  itself.  I’ve 
enough  to  last  for  a  month  at  least.” 

The  salesman  then  mentions  granite  ware  and  then  garden  tools  (it 
being  early  spring). 

Finally  the  buyer  says,  “Well,  perhaps  we  can  find  enough  things 
to  make  up  a  shipment,”  and  proceeds  to  place  an  order,  first  for  roof¬ 
ing  materials  and  then  other  items. 

3.  Observe  carefully  the  next  five  people  you  meet  and  who  talk 
with  you.  Consider  whether  their  appearance  is  such  as  to  win 
favorable  attention  and  why.  Report  your  findings. 

4.  Look  at  yourself  in  the  next  mirror  you  see  and  decide  whether 
you  are  favorably  impressed  with  your  general  appearance.  Why  ? 

5.  Give  three  examples  of  sales  in  which  action  would  be  easy  to 
secure. 

6.  Give  three  examples  of  sales  in  which  action  would  be  difficult 
to  secure. 

7.  Give  three  examples  in  which  desire  is  aroused  but  in  which 
action  does  not  follow  (other  than  cases  in  which  the  prospect  has 
not  the  money). 

8.  A  customer  enters  a  retail  grocery  store  and  asks  for  some 
Queen  Olives.  The  salesman  shows  some  which  the  customer  says  are 
satisfactory.  The  salesman  then  asked,  “Have  you  ever  tried  the 
stuffed  olives?”  “No,”  says  the  lady,  “my  husband  does  not  care  for 
them  although  I  rather  like  them.” 

The  salesman  then  shows  a  bottle  of  stuffed  olives  which  are  a 
little  higher  in  price  than  the  first  lot  shown.  “No,”  says  the  lady, 
“I  don’t  think  I  care  for  them.”  “Yet  they  are  choice  olives,  Madam, 
and  I  can  strongly  recommend  them.  You  ought  to  think  of  yourself, 
you  know.  Take  the  stuffed  olives  for  yourself  and  buy  some  of  the 
others  for  your  husband.” 

The  customer  was  silent  for  a  moment,  then,  turning  on  her  heel, 
said,  “I  don’t  think  I’ll  bother  with  any  to-day,  after  all,”  and  leaves 
the  store. 


QUESTIONS  AND  PROBLEMS 


337 

What  caused  the  change  in  her  attitude  and  how  should  the  sales¬ 
man  have  handled  the  situation  ? 

CHAPTER  IV — Attitudes  of  Buyer  and  Salesman 

1.  How  would  you  handle  the  sale  of  a  watch,  treating  it  (i)  as  a 
retail  sale;  (2)  as  a  wholesale  sale;  (3)  as  a  specialty  sale? 

2.  What  is  the  principal  difference  between  retail  and  specialty 
selling? 

3.  It  is  sometimes  said  that /‘wholesale  selling  is  selling  in  quan¬ 
tities. ”  This,  of  course,  is  not  so.  Show  wherein  this  statement  is 
incorrect. 

4.  A  retail  merchant  greets  with  cordiality  a  salesman  from  whom 
he  has  bought  for  some  years.  As  the  salesman  leaves,  a  young  sales¬ 
man  comes  in  on  his  first  visit.  The  merchant  greets  him  in  a  curt, 
offhand  manner.  What  causes  the  difference  in  his  attitude? 

5.  Assume  you  were  the  young  salesman  mentioned  in  question  4. 
What  would  be  your  general  attitude  to  the  merchant  ?  Why  ? 

6.  What  do  you  think  would  be  the  difference  between  the  general 
attitude,  to  the  salesman,  of  the  buyer  for  a  city  department  store  and 
that  of  a  country  general  store  proprietor? 

7.  Assume  that  there  is  a  shortage  of  raw  material  for  paper  mak¬ 
ing  and  that  prices  are  steadily  advancing.  How  would  these  condi¬ 
tions  affect  the  attitude  of  the  buyer  for  a  paper  mill  toward  salesmen  ? 

8.  The  president  of  a  street  railroad  realizes  that  it  is  necessary  to 
raise  the  fare  rate.  He  arranges  to  appear  before  a  public  utilities 
commission  to  present  his  argument  for  the  raise  in  rate.  What  would 
be  the  general  attitude  of  the  commission  to  the  president  ? 

9.  Suppose  that  when  you  got  home  to-night,  and  were  having  your 
supper,  a  salesman  came  to  the  door  to  sell  you  a  set  of  “Famous 
American  Short  Stories”  in  five  volumes — $2  down  and  $2  a  month 
for  five  months. 

(a)  What  would  be  your  general  attitude  to  the  salesman  and  why? 

(b)  Under  what  conditions  do  you  think  you  might  be  more  favorably 

impressed  ? 

CHAPTER  V — Preparation  of  the  Selling  Talk 

1.  Analyze  the  following  sales  conditions  showing  what  the  talk¬ 
ing  points  are : 

(a)  To  a  high-class  jeweler:  a  line  of  ladies’  wrist  watches. 


338 


APPENDIX 


(b)  To  a  furniture  dealer:  a  line  of  very  cheap  talking  machine 

records. 

(c)  To  a  housewife:  a  line  of  aluminum  ware. 

(d)  To  a  retail  customer :  a  dollar  box  of  chocolates. 

(e)  To  the  buyer  for  a  factory:  lubricating  oil. 

(f) .To  a  bookkeeper:  a  correspondence  course  in  accounting. 

2.  Give  three  selling  arguments  that  can  be  used  in  each  of  the 
above-mentioned  instances.  (In  analyzing  the  articles  mentioned  in 
question  i,  the  students  will  be  more  or  less  unfamiliar  with  them. 
The  object  of  these  two  questions,  however,  is  to  test  the  general 
ability  of  the  student  in  finding  talking  points  and  putting  them  into 
persuasive  language.) 

3.  A  securities  salesman  calling  on  a  prospect  gives  a  discussion  of 
the  importance  of  safety  in  investment.  He  then  introduces  a  specu¬ 
lative  oil  stock. 

(a)  Analyze  this  episode. 

(b)  What  arguments  would  you  use  in  this  instance? 

4.  Suppose  you  wanted  to  sell  your  services  (i.e.,  secure  a  position). 
List  all  the  talking  points  of  your  services  and  prepare  a  brief  sales 
talk  on  each  point. 

5.  What  class  of  people  could  use  the  kind  of  service  you  have  to 
offer?  If  you  were  one  of  that  class,  would  you  be  eager  to  hire 
yourself  ? 

6.  Why  should  a  variety  of  sales  arguments  be  memorized  until 
the  student  is  word  perfect  ? 


CHAPTER  VI — The  Generalship  of  the  Preapproach 

1.  What  knowledge  might  be  usefully  obtained  in  the  preapproach 
of  a  sale  of — 

(a)  Cutlery  to  a  hardwareman. 

(b)  Cash  register  to  a  market. 

(c)  Leather  belting  to  factories. 

(d)  Advertising  novelties  to  a  tailor. 

■ — (e)  Newspaper  space  to  a  national  advertiser. 

(f)  Magazine  space  to  a  hat  manufacturer. 

(g)  Milk  to  a  housewife. 

2.  How  can  the  salesman  estimate  the  buying  power  of  a  retail 
merchant  ? 

3.  How  could  the  salesman  of  high-priced  automobiles  find  pros¬ 
pects  ? 


QUESTIONS  AND  PROBLEMS 


339 

4.  How  can  the  salesman  estimate  the  buying  power  of  a  woman 
when  calling  at  her  home  ? 

5.  Give  three  examples  where  no  preapproaches  are  necessary. 

6.  Give  three  examples  where  extensive  preapproaches  are  neces¬ 
sary 

7.  A  soap  salesman  was  sent  to  a  big  city  with  instructions  to  call 
on  every  store  that  sold  soap.  List  all  the  methods  he  might  use  and 
the  sources  he  might  use  to  secure  a  complete  list  of  prospects. 

8.  How  might  the  following  information  be  utilized? 

(a)  A  young  lady  enters  a  furniture  store.  The  salesman  knows  she 

is  about  to  be  married. 

(b)  A  man  enters  a  hardware  store  to  buy  a  razor.  The  salesman 

knows  that  this  man  owns  an  automobile. 

(c)  A  salesman  offers  an  unadvertised  line  of  pickles.  He  knows  the 

grocer  is  partial  to  advertised  lines  because  he  finds  they  sell 

more  readily. 

(d)  A  fish  salesman  calls  on  the  owner  of  a  summer  hotel.  He  knows 

that  the  hotel  is  only  half-filled. 

(e)  A  poultry  salesman  learns  that  a  concern  he  has  been  following 

up  for  several  months  has  a  new  advertising  manager. 

(f)  A  salesman  of  office  supplies  learns  that  the  purchasing  agent 

for  a  bank  has  been  dismissed  for  “general  incompetency.” 

The  purchasing  agent  bought  heavily  from  the  salesman. 

CHAPTER  VII — Winning  the  Interview 

1.  Suppose  you  want  to  interview  the  buyer  for  a  wholesale  gro¬ 
cery  house  but  do  not  know  his  name.  How  can  you  find  it  out  with¬ 
out  expressing  your  ignorance  to  anyone  connected  with  the  company  ? 

2.  A  salesman  is  told  that  “The  buyer  will  see  you  in  a  little  while 
if  you  care  to  wait.”  After  half  an  hour  the  switchboard  operator 
tells  him  that  she  thinks  the  buyer  is  going  out  as  he  has  put  his  hat  on. 
What  should  the  salesman  do  under  these  circumstances? 

3.  Suppose  your  card  is  returned  by  the  boy  who  says,  “Nothing 
doing,  the  boss  is  mad  to-day  and  won’t  see  anybody.”  What  would 
you  do? 

4.  A  salesman  for  a  machine  tool  house  calls  on  the  purchasing 
agent  for  a  big  factory.  When  he  gets  there  on  a  Wednesday,  he  sees  a 
notice  saying  that  the  purchasing  agent  can  only  see  salesmen  on  Mon¬ 
day,  Tuesday,  and  Friday.  The  salesman  has  an  important  exhibition 
in  a  town  200  miles  away  the  next  day  and  cannot  possibly  wait  over, 
nor  can  he  return  in  the  near  future.  Yet  he  has  a  special  small 


340 


APPENDIX 


machine  tool  that  can  reduce  materially  the  manufacturing  cost  of  a 
certain  article.  He  asks  the  attendant  if  he  will  tell  the  purchasing 
agent  that  he  has  an  important  offer  but  is  told  that  it  is  no  use  taking 
the  message,  as  the  purchasing  agent  never  sees  salesmen  except  on 
regular  days.  What  can  the  salesman  do  to  secure  an  interview? 

5.  The  buyer  for  the  jewelry  department  of  a  store  sends  word 
that  he  will  see  the  salesman  the  next  day.  When  the  salesman  calls,  the 
buyer  sends  word  there  is  nothing  he  wants,  so  cannot  see  the  salesman. 
What  should  be  done? 

6.  How  can  the  salesman  legitimately  win  the  friendliness  and 
co-operation  of  subordinates? 

7.  A  salesman  calls  on  a  retail  merchant  who  is  talking  to  another 
salesman.  Noticing  the  salesman,  the  merchant  calls  out,  “Hello,  Mr. 
Jones.  Don’t  bother  to  stop  as  there’s  nothing  I  want  this  trip,  and 
I’ll  be  busy  with  this  man  for  some  time.”  What  should  the  sales¬ 
man  do  ? 

8.  A  customer  visits  the  furniture  department  of  a  big  store.  A 
salesman  approaches  and  asks  her  pleasure.  She  tells  him,  “I  want  to 
have  Mr.  Lane  wait  on  me,  no  one  else  will  do — and  I’m  in  a  hurry.” 
She  immediately  turns  away  to  look  at  an  aisle  display.  Mr. .  Lane  is 
out  to  lunch  and  won’t  be  back  for  an  hour.  What  should  the  sales¬ 
man  do  ? 


CHAPTER  VIII — Opening  the  Interview 

1.  While  waiting  on  two  customers,  a  third  approaches  and  curtly 
says  to  the  salesman,  “I’m  in  a  hurry,  who  can  attend  to  me?”  All 
the  salesmen  are  busy.  What  can  the  retail  salesman  do? 

2.  A  customer  enters  a  store  when  all  the  salesmen  are  engaged. 
After  waiting  a  few  minutes,  he  asks  a  salesman  how  long  he  will 
have  to  wait  for  attention.  The  salesman  says,  “I’ll  be  busy  for  some 
time — we  serve  customers  in  order  here.  Better  ask  some  other  sales¬ 
man.”  After  a  further  wait,  the  customer  quietly  leaves  the  store. 
What  was  wrong  and  what  could  have  been  done  ? 

3  A  salesman  calls  on  a  suburban  stationer  and  newsdealer  with  a 
line  of  fountain  pens.  He  greets  the  buyer  in  a  boisterous  manner  and 
says,  “Well,  old  chap,  we’ve  decided  to  give  you  little  fellows  a  chance 

to  make  big  money  out  of  selling  famous  Gazump  pens . I 

guess  even  little  bits  of  stores  like  this  can  sell  if  we  show  you 

how . What  about  it,  old  chap?”  Is  the  salesman’s  method  of 

approach  good ;  what  would  you  have  done  had  you  been  the  salesman  ? 


QUESTIONS  AND  PROBLEMS 


341 


4.  A  buyer  abruptly  says  to  a  salesman,  “Em  opposed  to  smoking 
cigarettes.  Before  I  talk  business  with  you,  tell  me — do  you  smoke 
cigarettes  ?”  The  salesman  does.  How  should  he  deal  with  the  situa¬ 
tion? 

5.  Is  it  ever  necessary  for  a  salesman  to  first  introduce  himself 
and  discuss  himself  (not  counting  the  case  of  applying  for  a  job)  ? 
Example. 

6.  When  should  the  salesman  ofifer  to  shake  hands  ? 

7.  A  salesman  called  on  a  buyer  who  was  talking  with  a  salesman 
for  a  competing  house.  The  buyer  said,  “I’m  going  to  lunch  with  Mr, 
Black  (the  competing  salesman)  but  have  half  an  hour  to  spare.  I 
don’t  want  a  thing  though.”  What  should  the  salesman  do,  remember¬ 
ing  that  a  competitor  is  there  ? 

8.  A  book  salesman  calls  on  a  housewife.  She  listens  to  him  but 
oes  not  invite  him  into  the  house  although  it  is  raining  hard.  What 

should  the  salesman  do  ? 

CHAPTER  IX — Methods  of  Arousing  Interest 

1.  How  might  the  demonstration  method  of  arousing  interest  be 
used  in  the  following  ? 

(a)  Selling  a  fountain  pen  to  a  business  man. 

(b)  Selling  a  radio  set  to  a  woman. 

(c)  Selling  a  collection  service  to  a  manufacturer. 

(d)  Selling  paper  for  printing  to  an  advertising  agency. 

(e)  Selling  steel  rails  to  a  railroad. 

(f)  Selling  shoes  to  a  jobber. 

2.  Why  is  enthusiasm  so  important  in  arousing  interest? 

3.  Strengthen  the  following  opening  remarks : 

(a)  By  a  grocer  to  a  customer,  “Are  you  interested  in  eggs  to-day?” 

(b)  To  a  business  man  in  his  office,  “Have  you  a  few  minutes  to 

spare?  I  have  a  proposition  that  I  would  like  to  explain  to  you.” 

(c)  To  an  automobile  owner,  “I  don’t  know  whether  you  ever  clean 

your  car  yourself,  but  if  you  do,  I  would  like  to  sell  you  some 

polish.” 

(d)  To  a  customer  in  an  electrical  store,  “Would  you  be  interested 

in  an  electric  toaster  to-day?” 

(e)  To  a  prospective  employer,  “I  don’t  suppose  you  need  an  errand 
boy  to-day,  do  you?” 

4.  What  would  you  do  to  insure  the  prospect’s  first  sight  of  your 
samples  being  attractive,  in  the  following  cases  ? 


342 


APPENDIX 


(a) 

-Hb) 

(c) 

(d) 

(e) 

(f) 


Selling  a  house  to  a  man  looking  for  a  home. 
Selling  a  line  of  table  cutlery  to  a  hardware  man. 
Selling  a  watch  to  a  retail  customer. 

Selling  veils  in  a  department  store. 

Selling  shoe  polish  to  a  retail  shoe  merchant. 
Selling  advertising  calenders  to  tailors. 


5.  Notice  how  goods  are  displayed  to  you  the  next  five  times 
you  buy  anything  and  report  your  criticism. 

6.  Illustrate  how  an  arbitrary  connection  with  interests  of  the  pros¬ 
pect  might  be  made  in  the  following  instances : 

(a)  Selling  rubber  keys  for  a  typewriter  to  a  typist  who  recently  won 

a  speed  contest. 

(b)  Selling  advertising  service  to  a  clothing  store  which  has  recently 

taken  on  an  advertised  brand  of  ready-to-wear  clothes. 

(c)  Selling  bread  in  a  grocery  store  to  a  customer  who  has  been  in 

the  habit  of  baking  her  own  bread  and  has  just  recovered  from 
an  illness. 

(d)  Selling  an  automobile  to  a  man  who  has  recently  bought  a  house 

in  the  suburbs. 


CHAPTER  X — Interesting  the  Retail  Customer 


1.  What  general  interest-arousing  comment  may  the  salesman  make 
to  the  customer  who  is  “looking  around”  in  a  store  and  stops  to  look 
at  the  following? 


Fireless  cooker 
Tub  skirts 
Cigar  cutter 
Golf  balls 


Mouse  trap 
Suitcases 

Popular  detective  story 
Cuff  links 


2.  State  what  questions  you  would  ask  a  retail  customer  under  the 
following  circumstances : 

(a)  Customer  in  a  novelty  shop  says  she  is  looking  for  a  present  for 

a  friend. 

(b)  Customer  in  a  fancy  goods  store  asks  for  a  pair  of  gloves. 

(c)  Customer  in  a  stationery  store  asks  for  some  writing  paper. 

(d)  Customer  in  a  toy  store  asks  for  “some  nice  little  toy  for  my 

nephew.” 

(e)  Customer  in  a  drug  store  asks  for  some  cough  syrup. 

(f)  Customer  in  a  furniture  store  says  she’s  looking  for  a  dining 

room  table. 

3.  How  many  different  articles  would  you  show  in  the  case  of  the 
following  sales? 


QUESTIONS  AND  PROBLEMS 


343 


Pocketknife  Hair  brush 

Camera  Banjo 

Shoes  Men’s  hat 

Women’s  hat  Diamond  ring 

10c.  nail  brush 

4.  A  customer  asks  in  a  hardware  store  for  a  “CCC”  pocketknife. 
The  store  does  not  keep  them.  It  specializes  in  the  “B.U.”  knife  which 
is  equal  in  quality  to  the  “CCC”  but  the  store  considers  the  line  better 
because  the  manufacturer  maintains  an  unusually  efficient  inspection 
service  which  prevents  defective  knives  leaving  the  factory.  Incor¬ 
porate  this  information  in  a  brief  sales  talk. 

5.  A  man  enters  a  sporting  goods  store  and  asks  for  a  dozen 
“Thomas”  golf  balls.  The  store  does  not  keep  them.  Illustrate  how 
the  salesman  may  proceed  to  sell  the  “clip-off”  golf  balls. 

6  A  lady  enters  a  furniture  store  to  buy  an  oak  dining  room  table. 
The  store  has  some  maple  tables  which  it  wants  to  dispose  of  and 
which  have  been  marked  down.  Describe  how  you  would  proceed  to 
sell  the  latter. 

7.  A  lady  enters  the  rug  department  of  a  department  store.  On 
being  approached  by  the  salesman,  she  says  she  merely  wishes  to  look 
around.  The  salesman  noticed  that  she  pays  particular  attention  to 
some  hall  runners  that  have  been  marked  down.  What  would  you  do 
in  such  a  case? 

8.  A  man  comes  into  a  drug  store  and  says  he’s  interested  in  a 
cheap  razor.  The  store  carries  three  kinds,  a  $1  razor,  a  $4  razor,  and 
a  $5  one.  The  $4  is  an  exclusive  brand;  the  $5  one  pays  the  largest 
profit.  So  far  as  the  store  is  concerned,  there  is  no  choice  between 
selling  the  $4  one  and  the  $5  one.  What  would  you  show  the  customer 
and  what  sales  talk  would  you  use? 

9.  A  woman  is  trying  on  a  pair  of  shoes.  She  tells  the  salesman 
she  always  wears  a  3A,  but  the  salesman  finds  that  she  requires  a  4B 
for  comfort  and  fit.  He  tries  on  a  4B  and  asks  the  customer  how  it 
feels  “Quite  comfortable,  I  think;  but  are  you  sure  this  is  a  3A;  I 
never  need  a  larger  size  than  that,”  she  replies.  How  would  you  meet 
such  a  situation? 


CHAPTER  XI — Methods  of  Creating  Desire 

1.  How  can  the  service  of  the  following  offering  be  applied  specifi¬ 
cally  in  the  following  instances  ? 

(a)  A  laundry  representative  calls  on  a  housewife  who  has  a  large 
family  for  which  she  does  all  the  sewing. 


344 


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(b)  An  insurance  agent  visits  a  man  of  45  who  has  recently  bought 

a  large  estate  on  which  he  has  a  $20,000  mortgage. 

(c)  A  salesman  for  an  advertised  line  of  shirts,  which  are  sold  through 

exclusive  agencies  placed  with  men’s  furnishing  stores  of  the 
better  class,  calls  on  a  well-known  retailer  who  is  meeting  keen 
chain  store  competition. 

(d)  A  salesman  of  adding  machines  calls  on  a  concern  which  employs 

25  bookkeepers. 

2.  A  bedstead  salesman  called  on  a  furniture  dealer.  After  some 
discussion  the  dealer  said,  “I’m  getting  tired  of  the  X  Co.  (a  com¬ 
peting  maker  of  beds)  ;  we  are  always  having  trouble  in  straightening 
out  claims  for  damages,  etc.  What’s  your  opinion  of  them?”  What 
would  you  do  and  say? 

3.  Is  there  anything  wrong  with  the  following  statements?  If  so, 
what  is  it  and  what  improvement  would  you  suggest? 

(a)  “You  agree  with  me  as  to  the  desirability  of  our  goods.  I  can 

assure  you  our  prices  are  right.  The  A  Company  are  higher 
than  we  are,  and  the  B  organization  is  way  above  us,  when 
you  take  quality  into  consideration.” 

(b)  “These  are  handsome  radiators.  No  one  makes  anything  to  com¬ 

pare  with  them.  Even  the  Gigantic  Company’s  radiators  are 
not  equal  to  them  and  theirs  are  considered  as  good  as  money 
can  buy.1’ 

4.  A  housewife  was  considering  favorably  the  purchase  of  a  dinner 
set  from  a  salesman  who  called  at  her  house.  Not  knowing  the  sales¬ 
man  or  his  company,  she  hesitated  to  place  the  order.  What  kind  of 
testimonials  could  you  offer  that  would  win  her  confidence? 

5.  Give  three  examples  of  the  skilful  use  of  testimonials  in  creating 
desire  and  in  building  up  confidence. 

6.  A  buyer  for  a  mail  order  house  terminated  the  interview  with 
a  salesman  for  a  china  concern  and  said,  “You  have  a  fine  line  and 
there  is  nothing  to  cavil  at  in  price  or  appearance;  however,  I’ll  not 
order  this  trip.”  What  in  your  opinion  caused  the  buyer  to  smother 
his  own  desire  for  the  china  and  what  would  you  have  done  under 
the  circumstances  ? 

7.  Name  ten  articles  that  the  buyer  must  personally  demonstrate 
if  he  is  to  realize  the  benefit  of  them  to  himself. 

8.  Name  five  offerings  which  it  is  not  practicable  for  the  buyer  to 
demonstrate. 


QUESTIONS  AND  PROBLEMS 


345 


CHAPTER  XII— Straight  Thinking 

1.  A  salesman  is  assigned  Indiana  and  Ohio  as  his  territory.  He 
has  never  been  in  that  part  of  the  country.  What  general  information 
must  he  possess  and  what  are  the  chief  sources  from  which  to  obtain 
it  ?  List  the  classes  of  information  with  the  subdivisions  of  each. 

2.  Collect  examples  of  each  of  the  main  types  of  reasoning;  the 
current  advertisements  and  newspaper  articles  will  furnish  abundant 
material. 

3.  Assume  that  you  have  been  requested  to  undertake  to  sell  pianos 
(or  any  other  article  in  which  you  may  be  interested)  during  the 
coming  summer;  you  decline,  or  accept.  In  either  case  list  each  of 
your  reasons  for  your  choice,  and  also  each  of  the  reasons  on  which 
these  first  reasons  are  based.  Determine  the  type  of  reasoning  that 
you  are  using  in  each  case. 

4.  Explain  and  classify  the  following  fallacies; 

(a)  Father  to  his  son  at  dinner — “John,  come  back  and  sit  down  or 

I’ll  send  you  away  from  the  table.” 

(b)  Iron  ships  cannot  float  because  iron  is  heavier  than  water. 

(c)  Mars  is  inhabited. 

(d)  As  an  intelligent  citizen  you  are  naturally  interested  in . . 

(e)  Carry  a  horsechestnut  in  your  pocket  if  you  wish  to  avoid 

rheumatism. 

(f)  Jones  is  a  good  business  man  so  he  will  make  a  good  mayor. 

5.  Give  three  examples  of  general  assertions  that  are  unsound. 

CHAPTER  XIII— Effective  Diction 

1.  Rewrite  the  following  with  special  effort  for  clearness  and 
vividness : 

“The  trouble  with  Brown  seems  to  be  that  he  generally  has  the 
time  to  do  his  work  if  he  would  only  start  in  in  time  to  get  his  work 
done  instead  of  letting  things  go  until  a  rush  comes  and  then  trying 
to  get  through  when  the  rest  are  ready  to  go.” 

“Smith  deals  mostly  in  small  hardware  for  everyday  people.  We 
ought  to  be  able  to  sell  him  some  stuff  if  we  want  to  by  dropping  in  to 
see  him  now  and  then  when  we  are  sending  a  man  through  who  is  a 
good  talker  and  keeps  in  touch  with  what’s  going  on  round  about  that 
section  of  the  country,  for  Smith  is  an  intelligent  sort  of  fellow  who 
likes  to  have  an  argument  about  things  in  general  when  there  isn’t 
much  doing,  especially  after  lunch,  because  it’s  rather  quiet  out  there 
in  that  part  of  the  town.” 


APPENDIX 


346 

2.  Prepare  a  two-minute  explanation  of  the  service  rendered  by 
one  of  the  following  articles :  vacuum  cleaner,  electric  iron,  student’s 
dictionary,  life  insurance  for  children.  Aim  at  crisp,  direct  statement 
with  illustrations  based  on  familiar  ideas  and  objects. 

3.  Show  the  adaptations  necessary  in  question  2  in  delivering  the 
explanation  to  each  of  the  following :  banker,  farmer,  fruit  store¬ 
keeper’s  wife  (a  thrifty  foreigner,  understanding  English  fairly  well). 

4.  Prepare  an  analytical  outline  of  each  of  three  magazine  full- 
page  advertisements,  bringing  the  advertisement  to  class  with  the 
outline. 

5.  Prepare  a  one-minute  argument  on  one  selling  point  of  any  of 
the  following:  lawnmower,  imported  dates,  sewing  machine,  fountain 
pen,  carbureter.  Vividness,  personal  appeal,  and  convincing  evidence 
required. 

6.  Improve  the  following  statements  by  making  them  more  definite : 

(a)  Our  goods  are  best. 

(b)  Your  boy  could  have  a  lot  of  fun  with  this  tool  set. 

(c)  These  shoes  will  last  a  long  time. 

(d)  A  telephone  would  save  you  much  time. 

(e)  A  new  sign  on  the  front  of  your  store  would  be  a  good  invest¬ 

ment  to  you. 

(f)  Have  a  storage  tank.  You  save  money  on  gasoline  (said 

to  an  automobile  owner  who  buys  his  gasoline  from  a  garage). 

CHAPTER  XIV — Objections  and  How  to  Answer  Them 

1.  A  customer  visiting  the  grocer’s  shop  said,  “I  want  a  pound  of 
‘Wellknown’  Tea.  Oh!  how  much  is  it  a  pound?”  “Eighty  cents, 
Madam,”  said  the  grocer  reaching  for  a  package.  “What !  Why  I 
can  get  it  from  the  Traders  Grocery  Company  down  the  street  for 
69  cents.”  How  would  you  answer  this  objection? 

(a)  Assuming  you  knew  it  to  be  true. 

(b)  Assuming  you  knew  it  to  be  untrue. 

2.  A  carpenter  visited  a  hardware  store  in  which  he  had  a  charge 
account  which  was  overdue  besides  being  too  large.  He  ordered  a  few 
bags  of  nails  and  other  things  and  said,  “Have  the  boy  put  them  in 
my  team.  Charge  them  of  course — er — I’ll  be  in  on  Saturday,  by  the 
bye,  and  make  a  good-sized  payment  on  my  account.”  The  hardware 
man  had  told  his  salesman  that  no  further  credit  could  be  given  and 
he  was  out  of  town  for  a  few  days  and  could  not  be  appealed  to.  If 
you  were  the  salesman,  how  would  you  meet  the  situation? 


QUESTIONS  AND  PROBLEMS 


347 


3.  A  woman  is  shown  a  fashionable  hat  which  the  salesperson 
realizes  is  peculiarly  appropriate.  The  customer,  however,  says,  “Oh, 
take  that  away.  I  don’t  like  it  at  all.  I  think  that  other  hat  is  the 
one  I  want.”  The  other  hat  is  an  old-style  one  that  is  not  at  all  suited 
to  the  customer.  What  should  the  salesperson  do? 

4.  An  insurance  salesman  calling  on  a  traveling  salesman  meets 
with  this  objection.  “There  is  only  the  wife  and  myself,  both  the 
children  are  now  caring  for  themselves.  I  own  my  own  home  free 
and  clear  besides  having  a  policy  that  will  pay  $40  a  month  for  life 
to  my  wife  should  I  die  first.  So  I  see  no  need  for  more  insurance.” 
If  you  were  the  insurance  salesman,  would  you  agree  with  the  reason¬ 
ableness  of  this  objection  or  could  you  offset  it? 

5.  A  men’s  furnishing  store  specialized  in  medium-priced  goods, 
yet  there  was  an  undoubted  need  for  really  fine  merchandise  in  that 
town  that  was  not  being  filled.  In  consequence,  many  men  bought 
their  better  quality  goods  in  a  nearby  big  city.  The  proprietor  has 
always  told  salesmen,  “There’s  no  demand  for  high-priced  stuff;  I’ve 
tried  it  and  lost  money  on  it.”  The  salesman  for  an  exclusive  line 
of  men’s  shirts  wishes  to  place  them  in  that  store.  How  should  he 
go  about  doing  it? 

6.  A  brush  salesman  calling  on  a  lady  at  her  home  is  told,  “I’ll 
never  buy  from  a  peddler  again.  A  young  man  sold  me  a  dress  length 
some  time  ago  and  when  it  came  C.  O.  D.  it  was  nothing  like  what  he 
showed  me.”  How  should  the  salesman  handle  the  objection? 

CHAPTER  XV — Excuses  and  How  to  Meet  Them 

1.  On  being  offered  a  line  of  exquisite  cigars,  a  wealthy  clubman 
said,  “I  can’t  afford  them.”  How  should  the  salesman  meet  the  excuse? 

2.  After  having  carefully  explained  the  benefits  of  his  line  of 
electric  fixtures  to  the  buyer  for  a  builder’s  supply  concern,  the  sales¬ 
man  is  told,  “I’ll  think  it  over  and  let  you  know.”  If  you  were  the 
salesman  what  would  you  do? 

3.  A  salesman  representing  a  jewelry  manufacturer  calls  on  a  retail 
jeweler  with  a  new  line  of  Christmas  novelties.  The  jeweler  says, 
“I  know  all  about  your  proposition  and  it  is  nothing  we  are  interested 
in.”  Answer  the  excuse. 

4.  A  proprietor  of  a  small  5  and  10  cent  store  when  offered  a  line 
of  kitchen  knives  says,  “I  always  buy  them  from  a  friend.”  What 
answer  should  the  salesman  make? 

5.  A  new  salesman  calling  on  a  hat  store  with  a  line  of  straw  hats 


348 


APPENDIX 


is  met  with,  “Your  house  treated  me  shabbily  on  a  former  occasion. 
I’ll  never  do  any  more  business  with  you.”  How  can  the  salesman 
meet  the  situation? 

6.  A  grocer  who  is  offered  a  new  breakfast  food  says,  “If  I  can 
return  what  I  don’t  sell,  I’ll  give  you  an  order.”  This  is  not  allowed 
by  the  house.  How  can  the  salesman  answer  the  grocer  ? 

7.  The  salesman  for  a  big  concern  is  told,  “I  always  buy  from 
small  concerns,  they  give  a  more  personal  attention  to  me.”  What 
can  the  salesman  say? 

8.  The  salesman  for  a  small  concern  is  told,  “I  always  buy  from 
big  houses,  they  have  the  variety  and  will  give  me  a  better  quality  of 
service  than  a  small  company  can.”  What  can  the  salesman  say? 

9.  A  prospect  for  an  adding  machine  says,  “Yes,  it  is  a  good  ma¬ 
chine  and  a  good  thing  to  run,  but  it  costs  too  much  money.” 

10.  How  should  the  excuse,  “I  am  too  busy  to  decide  now,”  be 
answered  ? 


CHAPTER  XVI— The  Diplomacy  of  the  Close 

1.  In  the  following  cases  has  the  prospect  reached  that  point  in  the 
mental  journey  from  attention  to  action  at  which  the  salesman  can 
bid  for  the  order  ?  Give  reasons  for  your  answer. 

(a)  A  salesman  for  a  novelty  mechanical  toy  demonstrates  it  to  the 

buyer  for  a  big  toy  store.  After  mentioning  the  price,  the 
salesman  says,  “Quite  an  attractive  novelty,  isn’t  it?”  The 
buyer  responds,  “Just  so-so,”  in  an  indifferent  manner. 

(b)  On  being  shown  a  new  line  of  canned  spinach  the  customer  tells 

the  grocer,  “I  like  spinach,  but  it  doesn’t  seem  to  me  that 
canned  spinach  can  be  nearly  so  good  as  fresh.” 

(c)  An  insurance  salesman  gives  a  clear  presentation  of  the  special 

value  of  insurance  to  his  prospect — a  successful  dentist.  The 
dentist  then  says,  “You  say  that  to  get  the  protection  I  need 
will  cost  $1,800  a  year — that’s  rather  more  than  I  expected  to 
pay — how  much  a  month  is  that?” 

2.  How  would  you  attempt  to  carry  the  above  three  interviews  to 
a  successful  termination? 

3.  Explain  what  is  meant  by  “painting  a  mental  picture.” 

4.  Give  an  example  of  a  closing  summary  which  depicts  the  cus¬ 
tomer  using  the  goods  when  the  following  articles  are  bought: 

Summer  bungalow. 

Beautiful  oil  painting. 


QUESTIONS  AND  PROBLEMS 


349 


Expensive  sealskin  coat. 

Rare  set  of  china. 

Motor  boat. 

5.  How  should  the  salesman  proceed  in  the  following  cases  ? 

(a)  The  purchasing  agent  for  a  furniture  manufacturer  has  recently 

tested  a  new  glue.  When  the  salesman  calls,  the  purchasing 
agent  says,  “Well,  your  glue  does  all  you  claim  for  it,  but  I 
don’t  think  I’ll  change  from  my  present  house  after  all.  It 
has  the  edge  on  you  for  price  and  there’s  not  enough  difference 
in  quality  to  justify  the  change.” 

(b)  After  looking  over  a  line  of  vacuum  cleaners,  the  buyer  says, 

“I  could  give  you  a  good  order  for  these.  That  reminds  me, 
the  wife  wanted  a  vacuum  cleaner.  I  suppose  you’d  send  one 
to  the  house  wouldn’t  you,  as  a  test  sample,  you  know?  You 
wouldn’t  want  to  send  me  a  bill  for  it  would  you?” 

(c)  After  telling  the  salesman  he  could  send  the  set  of  Shakespeare 

in  fifteen  volumes  on  monthly  payment  terms,  the  lady  of  the 
house  refuses  to  sign  the  order  saying  that  her  husband  has 
told  her  never  to  sign  anything  without  first  seeing  him.  The 
publishers  will  not  accept  unsigned  orders. 

(d)  A  hardware  man  after  much  hesitation  had  planned  a  fall  order 

for  carpenters’  tools.  Just  as  the  salesman  is  about  to  leave 
the  hardware  man  says,  “After  thinking  it  over,  I’m  sure  I 
ought  to  wait  before  buying  more  stock.  I’ll  have  to  ask  you 
to  cross  off  that  order — Next  time  you’re  ’round,  I’ll  surely  give 
you  an  order.” 


CHAPTER  XVII— Things  to  Remember  When  Closing 

1.  A  printer’s  salesman  called  on  a  small  publisher  who  occasion¬ 
ally  gave  him  some  business.  The  publisher  began  a  discussion  on 
the  trend  in  modern  fiction  and  gradually  became  more  and  more 
intense  on  the  subject.  How  could  the  salesman  switch  the  conver¬ 
sation  back  to  printing? 

2.  How  may  decision  be  secured  in  the  following  instances  ? 

.(a)  A  customer  in  a  stationery  store  is  buying  a  box  of  stationery 
and  is  doubtful  as  to  whether  to  buy  initial  stationery  or  plain, 
(b)  A  customer  is  buying  a  flashlight  and  does  not  know  whether  to 
buy  a  vest-pocket  size  or  a  larger  one. 

3.  A  wholesale  salesman  has  just  received  an  order  for  linoleums 
from  a  new  customer.  Describe  what  he  should  do  or  say  after 
writing  the  order  and  securing  the  signature. 


350 


APPENDIX 


4.  A  customer  has  just  bought  several  packages  of  garden  seeds 
from  a  general  store.  What  can  the  salesman  do  to  increase  the  sale  ? 

5.  The  salesman  for  a  collar  manufacturer  has  presented  his  sam¬ 
ples  to  a  men’s  furnishing  store.  The  buyer  says,  “Well,  I  like  your 
line;  they  are  rather  better  than  we’ve  been  selling,  but  I  believe  they’ll 
sell.  Now  I  want  your  suggestions  as  to  what  patterns  to  buy  and  the 
quantity.”  On  what  should  the  salesman  base  his  judgment? 

6.  Give  an  illustration  of  the  policy  of  mentioning  in  your  conver¬ 
sation  a  larger  amount  than  you  expect  the  prospect  to  buy. 

7.  Correct  the  following :  A  salesman  is  selling  table  lamps  to  a 
furniture  store.  He  says,  “Now,  Mr.  Day,  I  have  explained  to  you 
the  advantage  of  my  lamps  and  you  have  seen  that  they  are  beautiful 
in  design  and  charming  in  finish.  I  hope  you  will  now  give  me  an 
order  for  some.” 

8.  A  salesman  offering  canned  peaches  to  a  grocer  has  evidently 
aroused  desire.  The  grocer  asks  the  price,  and  on  hearing  it  says, 
“The  price  seems  very  low  for  those  peaches.  I’m  afraid  there’s 
something  wrong  with  them.”  How  should  the  salesman  proceed 
from  this  point  to  close  the  sale? 

CHAPTER  XVIII — Friendly  Relations  with  the  Buyer 

1.  Suggest  three  ways  in  which  the  friendliness  of  the  wholesale 
buyer  may  be  won. 

2.  Suggest  three  ways  in  which  the  friendliness  of  the  retail  cus¬ 
tomer  may  be  won. 

3.  What  means  of  offering  the  customer  “service  plus”  could  be 
taken  in  selling? 

(a)  A  correspondence  school  course. 

(b)  Advertising  space. 

(c)  A  complicated  piece  of  machinery. 

(d)  The  commodity  you  sell  or  in  which  you  are  interested. 

4.  What  kind  of  general  “service  plus”  would  be  appreciated  by? 

(a)  Retail  merchants. 

(b)  Wholesale  merchants. 

(c)  Purchasing  agents  for  factories. 

(d)  Office  managers  (who  also  buy  supplies). 

(e)  Retail  grocery  customers. 

(f)  Housewives  (solicited  by  specialty  salesmen). 

5.  Observe  the  conditions  pertaining  to  the  next  five  different  arti¬ 
cles  you  purchase  and  decide  what  “serviceplus,”  if  any,  would  have 
pleased  you. 


QUESTIONS  AND  PROBLEMS 


351 


6.  Report  your  decisions  and  whether  you  believe  you  would  be 
justified  in  expecting  them,  taking  into  consideration  general  business 
customs  and  the  expense  involved  in  your  “service  plus”  desires. 


CHAPTER  XIX — The  Retail  Satisfaction  that  Creates  Good-Will 


1.  A  retail  customer  asks  the  salesperson  for  a  certain  exclusive 
brand  of  silk  stockings.  The  store  does  not  carry  them,  so  the  sales¬ 
man  says,  “We  do  not  carry  that  particular  brand  but  have  some 
excellent  ones  which,  while  much  cheaper,  will  give  splendid  satisfac¬ 
tion.”  The  customer  replies,  “No,  thank  you.  I’ve  worn  the  other 
brand  for  a  long  time  and  do  not  care  to  change.  I  have  only  just 
moved  into  this  town  and  don’t  know  where  they  are  sold.”  The 
salesman  knows  who  sells  them.  Should  he  tell  the  customer?  Give 
reasons  for  your  answer. 

2.  The  following  articles  are  sold  at  a  low  price  but  cannot  be 
guaranteed  because  of  certain  deficiencies.  How  would  you  describe 
their  deficiencies  to  a  customer? 


Granite  ware 

Saw 

Hosiery 


Doll  carriage 
Suite  of  furniture 
Cravats 


3.  A  customer  returns  a  pair  of  shoes.  He  complains  angrily  that 
the  leather  is  very  poor;  the  shoes  are  obviously  worn  through,  yet 
the  customer  bought  them  less  than  two  weeks  ago.  After  some  tact¬ 
ful  questioning,  the  customer  states  that  they  got  wet,  and  going  home 
in  the  train  he  put  his  feet  on  the  car  radiator  which  was  steaming 
hot.  The  salesman  explains  that  wet  leather  subjected  to  such  heat 
will  have  the  life  burnt  out  of  it.  The  customer  says  bluntly,  “That’s 
a  pack  of  lies,  it’s  rotten  leather  and  you’ll  give  me  my  money  back 
or  there’ll  be  trouble.”  What  should  the  salesman  do?  Remember 
that  the  customer’s  good-will  is  earnestly  desired. 

4  A  customer  orders  an  ebony  table  costing  $650  from  a  high- 
grade  store.  It  is  something  that  has  to  be  specially  ordered  and 
is  not  an  article  that  would  sell  in  the  usual  way.  In  due  time  it  is 
made  and  sent  for  delivery.  The  customer  returns  it  with  the  state¬ 
ment,  “Don’t  want  it  now;  changed  my  mind  about  it.”  What  would 
you  do  if  you  were  the  salesman? 

5.  A  customer  calls  on  a  grocer  and  says,  “I  am  recommended  to 
your  store  by  Mrs.  Myers  and  want  a  few  things.”  Mrs.  Myers  is 
a  good  charge  customer,  although  getting  slow  in  settling  the  account. 


352 


APPENDIX 


The  customer  orders  over  $50  worth  of  goods  and  concludes  with, 
“That’s  all  now,  have  them  put  into  the  car  (a  cheap  one,  incidentally . 
I’ll  start  a  charge  account  right  away.”  What  should  be  the  salesman’s 
plan  of  procedure? 

6.  If  you  owned  a  jewelry  store,  what  kind  of  instructions  would 
you  issue  to  your  salespeople  with  regard  to  developing  good-will? 
Why? 

CHAPTER  XX — The  Salesman  and  the  Sales  Manager 

Note:  In  all  the  following  problems,  assume  you  are  the  sales 
manager  and  are  called  upon  to  solve  them. 

1.  A  small  manufacturer  of  rubber  goods,  selling  to  the  retail  trade 
in  Illinois,  decides  to  cover  more  of  the  country.  His  salesmen  aver¬ 
age  $50,000  worth  of  business  a  year  and  his  present  output  of 
$250,000  is  sold  by  five  men.  Additional  capital  makes  it  possible  to 
increase  production  to  $2,000,000.  The  sales  manager  is  told  to: 

(a)  Decide  how  many  extra  men  to  hire. 

(b)  What  territory  to  give  them. 

2.  A  kitchen .  article  selling  direct  to  consumer  costs  25  cents  to 
make;  this  includes  all  costs  except  selling  costs.  The  article  retails 
for  $1.  The  plan  of  selling  is  to  hire  crew  managers  on  a  small  salary 
and  bonus,  and  crew  men  on  straight  commission  plus  a  25  cent  allow¬ 
ance  every  day  (working  six  days  a  week)  for  incidental  car  fares 
and  transportation  from  one  town  to  another.  (Each  crew  manager 
is  to  have  six  men.)  It  is  felt  that  men  cannot  be  retained  unless  they 
earn  at  least  $25  a  week. 

(a)  What  commissions  would  you  pay  the  crew  men? 

(b)  What  bonus  and  salary  would  you  give  the  crew  manager? 

(c)  How  much  would  each  salesman  have  to  sell  to  average  the  $25 

net  weekly  earnings  ? 

(d)  How  many  crew  managers  and  men  would  be  required  to  insure 

a  yearly  sale  of  $200,000  worth  of  goods? 

(e)  What  home  office  sales  force  would  be  necessary  to  handle  the 

sales  ? 

(f)  Would  supervisors  (i.e.,  sales  managers  to  supervise  the  terri¬ 

tories  of,  say,  ten  crew  managers)  be  necessary? 

(g)  If  so,  how  should  they  be  paid? 

(h)  What  net  profit  would  the  company  show  on  your  analysis,  assum¬ 

ing  a  loss  from  lost  samples  and  other  causes,  of  1  per  cent 

of  sales  ? 


QUESTIONS  AND  PROBLEMS  353 

(i)  What  dividend  could  be  declared  on  a  common  stock  capitalization 
of  $25,000  after  carrying  forward  10  per  cent  of  net  profits  for 
depreciation  ? 

3.  Suppose  a  company  making  a  high-grade  filing  cabinet  finds 
itself  with  a  very  heavy  stock,  and  sales  not  quite  up  to  normal.  The 
production  department  tells  the  sales  manager  that  unless  it  gets  more 
orders  right  away  it  will  have  to  go  on  to  a  four-day-week  schedule. 

The  general  manager  after  conference  with  the  heads  of  depart¬ 
ments  tells  the  sales  manager  that  for  the  next  three  months  a  special 
appropriation  of  approximately  5  per  cent  of  normal  sales  can  be 
used  to  stimulate  business.  (The  normal  sales  for  the  next  three 
months  are  $450,000.)  There  are  several  ways  in  which  the  money 
can  be  used  such  as : 

(a)  Extra  magazine  and  newspaper  advertising. 

(b)  Special  trade  discounts. 

(c)  Commissions  or  bonuses  to  salesmen. 

(d)  By  a  circularizing  campaign. 

(e)  One  or  two  extra  salesmen  to  specialize  on  the  slow-moving  goods. 

(f)  Many  others  that  the  sales  manager  can  readily  conceive. 

How  would  you  handle  this  situation? 

4.  A  company  is  organized  to  make  a  complete  line  of  stationery 
goods  (i.e.,  social  and  commercial  stationery,  account  books,  scribbling 
blocks,  calendars,  etc.).  A  sales  manager  is  hired  and  given  a  free 
hand  to  plan  his  organization  within  the  following  limits : 

(a)  The  company  must  sell  not  less  than  $500,000  worth  of  goods 

yearly  to  “break  even.” 

(b)  It  refuses  to  make  any  “specials,”  relying  entirely  on  its  regular 

line  to  get  the  business. 

(c)  It  will  only  make  quality  goods  and  will  not  attempt  to  compete 

on  prices  with  other  concerns. 

(d)  It  insists  on  commencing  operation  in  New  England. 

Plan  out  the  sales  policies  and  organization. 

CHAPTER  XXI — The  Knowledge  that  Gives  Breadth 

1.  Give  the  names  of  any  books  and  trade  journals  concerns  with 
your  line  of  goods  (assuming  you  are  a  salesman)  that  you  have  read 
recently.  If  you  have  not  read  any,  list  those  you  have  heard  about. 

2.  If  you  are  not  a  salesman,  list  the  names  of  half  a  dozen  maga¬ 
zines  that  specialize  on  business. 

3.  List  the  kind  of  information  needed  by: 


354 


APPENDIX 


(a)  Specialty  salesman  selling  envelope  sealers. 

(b)  Specialty  salesman  selling  gas  irons. 

(c)  Wholesale  salesman  selling  tea. 

(d)  Specialty  salesman  selling  special  automatic  machinery. 

(e)  Retail  salesman  selling  roofing  material. 

(  f  )  Wholesale  salesman  selling  pharmaceuticals. 

4  Suggest  the  sources  of  the  information  needed  by  the  six  fore¬ 
going  salesmen. 

5.  Name  four  sources  from  which  the  retail  salesman  can  get 
information  about  the  goods  sold  in  his  store. 

6.  What  facts  should  the  salesman  have  about? 

(a)  The  company  he  represents. 

(b)  His  competitors. 

(c)  Trade  conditions  generally. 

7.  A  hardware  man  decides  to  open  another  store  in  a  nearby  town. 
He  writes  to  his  regular  jobbing  house  as  follows:  “I  want  some  help 
as  to  what  to  buy  for  the  new  store;  please  send  a  salesman  who  can 
advise  with  me.”  What  should  the  salesman  know  to  be  able  to  help 
the  customer  in  this  case? 

8.  What  other  subjects  in  addition  to  this  text  should  be  studied 
to  “round  out”  the  salesman’s  general  effectiveness? 


CHAPTER  XXII — Types  of  Customers 

1.  What  would  be  the  attitude  of  the  following  buyers  toward  the 
salesmen  ? 

(a)  The  wholesale  buyer  who  is  pompous,  quite  clever,  and  given  to 

wordy  discussions  on  the  merits  of  his  own  opinions. 

(b)  The  wholesale  buyer  who  is  ignorant,  conceited,  and  decides  mat¬ 

ters  by  snap  judgment. 

(c)  The  stolid,  skeptical,  yet  able  purchasing  agent  for  a  wood¬ 

working  plant,  who  continually  finds  fault  with  the  offer  and 
who  never  buys  without  first  trying  to  secure  lower  prices  or 
better  terms. 

(d)  The  good-natured  buyer  who  agrees  to  everything  the  salesman 

says,  but  refuses  to  buy  until  he  has  had  time  to  consider  the 
proposition. 

(e)  The  buyer  of  supplies  for  a  bank  who  always  appears  worried 

and  nervous  and  who  listens  listlessly  to  the  buyer  and  who 
seldom  gives  any  definite  decision  but  replies,  “I  don’t  know 
what  to  say,”  to  nearly  all  questions. 


QUESTIONS  AND  PROBLEMS 


355 

(f)  The  careless,  easy-going  buyer  who  always  interrupts  the  sales¬ 
man  to  tell  him  a  story  irrelevant  to  business. 

2.  What  should  be  the  salesman’s  general  conduct  in  each  of  the 
above  cases? 

CHAPTER  XXIII — Characteristic  Retail  Types 

1.  What  would  be  the  attitude  of  the  following  customers  toward 
the  retail  salesman? 

(a)  The  haughty,  supercilious  lady  who  feels  that  everyone  should 

give  her  first  consideration. 

(b)  The  average  boy  of  ten  who  is  sent  to  the  grocer’s  to  buy  some 

much  needed  trifle. 

(c)  The  young  couple  who  are  always  deferring  to  each  other’s  judg¬ 

ment  and  almost  disagree  in  fighting  for  each  other’s  wishes. 

(d)  The  young  man  who  always  appears  terribly  bored. 

(e)  The  young  lady  who  gushes  enthusiastically  over  everything  or 

anything. 

2.  What  should  be  the  salesman’s  general  conduct  in  each  of  the 
above  cases? 

CHAPTER  XXIV— The  Make-Up  of  Personality 

1.  Explain  why  personality  plays  such  an  important  part  in  sales¬ 
manship. 

2.  Mention  six  essential  traits  to  which  particular  attention  needs 
to  be  given  if  the  salesman  is  to  develop  his  personality. 

3.  Do  you  consider  that  you  have  a  good  personality? 

(a)  Why? 

(b)  If  not,  what  are  you  doing  to  develop  it? 

4.  List  the  names  of  six  people  you  particularly  admire,  then  try 
to  analyze  their  personality. 

5.  Think  of  someone  you  dislike.  Analyze  his  personality  and  see 
if  the  reason  for  your  dislike  is  not  merely  some  habit  or  mannerism 
which,  once  forgotten  or  passed  over,  may  enable  you  to  find  common 
grounds  for  friendliness. 

CHAPTER  XXV — The  Leaven  of  Enthusiasm 

1.  Discuss  the  relationship  of  knowledge  of  the  salesman’s  offering 
to  his  enthusiasm  for  it. 

2.  What  are  the  distinguishing  features  of  the  enthusiastic  sales¬ 
man  ? 


356 


APPENDIX 


3.  Are  you  enthusiastic  about  your  job  (or  your  prospects)  ?  Why? 

4.  Why  does  enthusiasm  react  so  favorably  on  the  work  habit? 

5.  What  other  qualities  does  the  episode  relating  to  the  sale  of 
calendars  to  the  grocer  illustrate  in  addition  to  enthusiasm? 

6.  What  is  the  effect  on  others  of? 

(a)  Apathy. 

(b)  Enthusiasm. 

CHAPTER  XXVI— The  Habit  of  Industry 

1.  Does  the  habit  of  industry  tend  to  make  the  salesman  enthusi¬ 
astic  ?  Why  ? 

2.  Do  you  think  you  are  industrious?  Why? 

3.  If  you  were  called  upon  to  advise  a  young  man  on  how  to  be 
industrious,  what  would  you  tell  him? 

4.  Do  the  wholesale  and  specialty  salesmen  need  to  pay  more 
attention  to  the  development  of  industry  than  the  retail  salesman  does  ? 
Why  ? 


CHAPTER  XXVII — The  Courtesy  that  Attracts  and  Pleases 

1.  Do  you  consider  yourself  courteous?  Why? 

2.  What  is  the  difference  between  courtesy  and  politeness? 

.  3.  Discuss  the  relationship  between  keeping  well  groomed  and  being 
courteous. 

4.  Why  is  it  important  for  the  aggressive  salesman  to  pay  particu¬ 
lar  attention  to  his  manners  and  bearing? 

5.  Have  you  any  mannerism  of  speech  or  action  that  others  may 
think  of  as  discourteous,  or  at  least  inconsiderate? 


CHAPTER  XXVIII— The  Fire  of  Courage 

1.  Do  you  think  you  possess  courage?  Why? 

2.  If  you  were  called  upon  to  tell  a  group  of  salesmen  about  the 
importance  of  courage  to  success  in  selling,  what  would  you  say? 

3.  Do  honesty  and  honorable  methods  develop  courage?  Why? 

4.  What  are  the  main  differences  between  the  two  aspects  of  cour¬ 
age  presented  in  this  chapter? 

5.  How  may  a  salesman  overcome  the  dread  of  calling  on  a 
particularly  disagreeable  customer? 


QUESTIONS  AND  PROBLEMS 


357 


CHAPTER  XXIX— The  Lubricant  of  Tact 

1.  Would  you  credit  yourself  with  being-  especially  tactful?  Why? 

2.  Write  a  brief  essay  on  the  importance  of  tact  in  salesmanship. 

3.  Ask  yourself,  honestly,  what  your  general  attitude  toward  busi¬ 
ness  is.  Is  it  indefinite  or  definite  ?  Low  or  high  ?  Selfish  or  unsel¬ 
fish?  Gloomy  or  cheerful?  Is  it  material  or  spiritual?  Why? 

4.  Having  studied  this  book,  what  are  you  doing  about  applying 
the  principles  of  salesmanship  to  your  everyday  life? 

5.  What  are  you  going  to  study  next? 


APPENDIX  B 


SUPPLEMENTARY  READING  LIST 

CHAPTER  I — Study  and  Practice  of  the  Art  of  Salesmanship 


Brisco,  Norris  A., 

Dickens,  Charles, 
Douglas,  Archer  Wall, 

Drever,  James, 

Hawkins,  Norval  A., 
Hoover,  Simon  R., 
Moody,  Walter  D., 
Munsterberg,  Hugo, 

Pearson,  George  Conover, 
Peirce,  Frederick, 

Read,  Harlan  Eugene, 

Shakespeare,  William, 
Twain,  Mark, 

Whitehead,  Harold, 


Fundamentals  of  Sales¬ 
manship, 

Oliver  Twist, 

Traveling  Salesmanship, 

The  Psychology  of  In¬ 
dustry, 

The  Selling  Process, 
Salesmanship, 

Men  Who  Sell  Things, 
Psychology  and  Indus¬ 
trial  Efficiency, 

Selling  Your  Services, 
The  Human  Side  of 
Business. 
Salesmanship, 

Julius  Caesar, 

The  '  Adventures  of 
Tom  Sawyer, 

Common  Sense  in 
Business, 


Ch. 

2.  Salesmanship. 

47- 

i.  The  Nature  and  Func¬ 
tion  of  Salesmanship, 
ii.  The  Art  of  the  Sales¬ 
man. 

I.  The  “Sales.” 
i.  What  Is  Salesmanship? 

1.  The  New  Era! 

23.  Buying  and  Selling. 

19.  Selling  Your  Services. 

4.  Salesmanship. 

Lesson  1.  The  Import¬ 
ance  of  Salesmanship. 
Act  III,  Scene  II. 

2. 

19.  What  Is  Salesmanship? 


CHAPTER  II— Motives  Behind  All  Buying 

Ch. 

Angell,  James  R.,  Psychology,  16.  Important  Human 

Instincts. 

Hess,  Herbert  W.,  Productive  Advertising,  3.  Instincts. 

Hollingworth,  Harry  L.,  Advertising  and  Selling,  13.  Instincts,  Their 

Strength  and  Nature. 


358 


SUPPLEMENTARY  READING  LIST 


359 


Ivey,  Paul  Wesley, 

Jones,  John  G., 

Raymond,  Charles 
Harvey, 

Scott,  Walter  Dill, 
Strong,  Edward  K., 


Tipper,  Hotchkiss,  Hol¬ 
lingsworth  and  Par¬ 
sons, 


Elements  of  Retail 
Salesmanship, 

Salesmanship  and  Sales 
Management, 

Modern  Business 
Writing, 

The  Psychology  of 
Advertising. 

The  Psychology  of  Sell¬ 
ing  Life  Insurance, 

Principles  of  Adver-  8. 
tising, 


14.  The  Relation  of  the 

Strength  of  the  Chief 
Instincts  and  In¬ 
terests. 

4.  Knowing  the  Customer. 

7.  Part  I,  Human  Appeals 
that  Sell. 

6.  Instincts. 

15.  Human  Instincts. 

Lessons  X  and  XI, 
Man’s  Instinctive 
Behavior  Toward 
Human  Beings. 

Chief  Human  Needs 
and  their  Satisfaction. 


The  following  collateral  reading  is  intended  for  those  students 
interested  in  the  psychological  aspect  of  salesmanship. 


Adams,  Henry  F., 
Angell,  James  R., 
Edie,  Lionel  D., 


Advertising  and  Its 
Mental  Laws, 
Psychology, 


5.  Informing  the 
Customer. 

15.  Reflex  Action  and 
Instinct. 

2.  Economic  Expression  of 
Instincts. 


Principles  of  the  New 
Economics, 

Hollingworth,  Harry  L.,  Advertising  and  Selling,  2.  The  Nervous  Basis  of 

Man’s  Mental  Pro- 


Hunter,  Walter  S., 


James,  Williams, 


General  Psychology, 


cesses. 

3.  Pages  174,  175,  The 
Classification  of  In¬ 
stincts. 

25.  Instincts. 


Pillsbury,  W.  B., 
Pyle,  Wm.  Henry, 


Psychology,  Briefer 
Course, 

Essentials  of  Psychology,  10.  Instincts. 

The  Outlines  of  Educa-  4.  Instincts, 
tional  Psychology, 

Thorndyke,  Edward  L.,  Educational  Psychology  2,3.  Man’s  Equipment  of 

Briefer  Course,  Instincts  and  Capa¬ 

city. 

4.  Original  Satisfiers  and 
Annoyers. 


APPENDIX 


360 

Watson,  John  B., 

Woodworth,  Robert  S., 

CHAPTER 

Atkinson,  William 
Walker, 

Brisco,  Norris  A., 
Clapp,  John  Mantle, 

Cody,  Sherwin, 

Davis  and  Lingham, 

Ivey,  Paul  Wesley, 

Kitson,  Harry  Dexter, 

Raymond,  Charles 
Harvev, 

Tipper,  Hotchkiss,  Hol¬ 
lingsworth  and  Par¬ 
sons, 

CHAPTER 

Barrett,  Harry  J., 
Cody,  Sherwin, 

Douglas,  Archer  Wall, 
Farrington,  Frank, 


Psychology  from  the 
Standpoint  of  the 
Behaviorist, 

Psychology, 


6.  Heredity  Moods  of  Re¬ 

sponse:  Emotions. 

7.  Heredity  Moods  of  Re¬ 

sponse,  Instincts. 

8.  Inventory  of  Human 

Instincts  and  Primary 
Emotions. 


Ill — The  Customer’s  Mental  Journey 


The  Psychology  of 
Salesmanship, 

Retail  Salesmanship, 
Language  for  Men  of 
Affairs  (Vol.  1), 

How  to  Deal  with  Hu¬ 
man  Nature  in  Busi¬ 
ness, 

Business  English  and 
Correspondence, 
Elements  of  Retail 
Salesmanship, 

The  Mind  of  the  Buyer, 

Modern  Business  Writ¬ 
ings, 

The  Principles  of  Ad¬ 
vertising, 


Ch. 

7.  The  Psychology  of  Pur¬ 

chase. 

15.  Mental  Stages  of  a  Sale. 
14.  What  Business  Conver¬ 
sation  Is. 

4.  The  Principles  of  Sales¬ 
manship. 

9.  The  Selling  Letter. 

8.  The  Selling  Process. 

I.  The  Stream  of  Thought 
in  the  Sale. 

9.  The  Steps  in  the  Selling 

Appeal. 

9.  Chief  Classes  of  Adver¬ 
tisements. 


IV — Attitudes  of  Buyer  and  Salesman 


How  to  Sell  More  Goods, 

How  to  Deal  with  Hu¬ 
man  Nature  in  Bus¬ 
iness  (Part  IV), 

Traveling  Salesmanship, 

The  Successful  Sales¬ 
man, 


Ch. 

1.  Told  in  a  Pullman 

Smoking  Room. 

2.  Different  Kinds  of 

Salesmen  and  Their 
Duties. 

5.  Contact  with  Custom¬ 
ers. 

5.  Understanding  the  Cus¬ 

tomer. 

6.  What  Customers  Want. 


SUPPLEMENTARY  READING  LIST 


Hotchkin,  William  R.,  Making  More  Money 

in  Store  Keeping, 

Lorimer,  George  Horace,  Letters  from  a  Self- 

Made  Merchant  to 
His  Son, 

Moody,  Walter  D.,  Men  Who  Sell  Things, 


70.  The  Salespersons’  At¬ 
titude  toward  the 
Customer. 

Letter  10. 


12.  The  Right  Kind  of 
Salesman. 

20.  The  Salesman’s  Rela¬ 
tion  to  the  Buyer. 


CHAPTER  V — The  Preparation  of  the  Selling  Talk 


Benedict-Roche,  Ade¬ 
laide, 

Brisco,  Norris  A., 
Clapp,  John  Mantle, 

Hawkins,  Norval  A., 
Ivey,  Paul  Wesley, 

Lee,  James  Melvin, 

Lorimer,  George  Hor¬ 
ace, 

Nystrom,  Paul  H., 
Osborn,  Alex  F., 

Pierce,  Frederick, 

Whitehead,  Harold, 


Salesmanship  for 
Women, 

Retail  Salesmanship, 
Language  for  Men  of 
Affairs  (Vol.  1), 

The  Selling  Process, 
Elements  of  Retail 
Salesmanship, 
Language  for  Men  of 
Affairs  (Vol.  II),-: 
Letters  from  a  Self- 
Made  Merchant  to 
his  Son, 

Automobile  Selling, 

The  Short  Course  in 
Advertising, 

The  Human  Side  of 
Selling, 

The  Business  of  Selling, 
Common  Sense  in  Busi¬ 
ness, 


Ch. 

8.  Importance  of  Prepar¬ 
ing  Selling  Points. 

16.  Selling  Points. 

7.  The  Sales  Talk. 

4.  Preparation. 

2  and  3.  Knowing  the 
Goods. 

27.  Knowing  the  Product. 
Letter  11. 


Demonstrating  the  Car. 

Analysis  of  the  Cus¬ 
tomer’s  Attitude. 

Sales  Methods  and  Am¬ 
munition. 

The  Commodity. 

Standardized  vs.  Indi- 
vidualized  Sale- 
Talks. 


10. 

17. 

10. 

6. 

18. 


CHAPTER  VI — The  Generalship  of  the  Preapproach 


Atkinson,  William 
Walker, 

Barrett,  Harold  J., 


The  Psychology  of 
Salesmanship, 
How  to  Sell  More 
Goods, 


Ch. 

6.  The  Preapproach. 

2.  Selling  the  Customer 
Direct. 


APPENDIX 


Conyngton,  Hugh  R. 

Douglas,  Archer  Wall, 

Hawkins,  Norval  A., 
Jones,  John  G., 

Whitehead,  Harold, 
Young,  Melvin, 


Financing  an  Enter¬ 
prise,  Vol.  III. 

Traveling  Salesman¬ 
ship, 

The  Selling  Process, 
Salesmanship  and  Sales 
Management, 

The  Business  of  Selling, 
The  Science  and  Art  of 
Writing  Life  Insur¬ 
ance, 


41.  Private  Presentation. 

42.  Among  Strangers. 

2.  Preparations  for  the 

Road. 

5.  Prospecting. 

3.  Preliminary  to  the  In¬ 

terview. 

9.  The  Preapproach., 

Lesson  4.  The  Art  of 
Securing  Pros¬ 
pects. 


CHAPTER  VII — Winning  the  Interview 


Farrington,  Frank, 

Hawkins,  Norval  A., 

Leichter,  E., 

Marden,  Orison  Swett, 
Shaw,  A.  W.,  Com¬ 
pany 

Strong,  Edward  K., 


The  Successful  Sales¬ 
man, 

The  Selling  Process, 

Successful  Selling, 
Selling  Things, 

The  Knack  of  Selling, 

The  Psychology  of 
Selling  Life  Insur¬ 
ance, 


Ch. 

7.  Keeping  up  the  Cus¬ 
tomer  List. 

6.  Planning  the  Approach 
and  the  Audience. 

3.  The  Approach. 

2 1.  Finding  Customers. 
Book  V.  Getting  in 
to  See  the  Pros¬ 
pect. 

Lesson  25.  Securing 
the  Interview. 


CHAPTER  VIII — Opening  the  Interview 


Atkinson,  William 
Walker, 

Brisco,  Norris  A., 

James,  Wm., 

Jones,  John  G., 

Moody,  Walter  D., 
Munsterberg,  Hugo, 
Norton,  Helen  Rich, 


The  Psychology  of 
Salesmanship, 
Fundamentals  of  Sales¬ 
manship 

Psychology,  Briefer 
Course, 

Salesmanship  and 
Sales  Management, 
Men  Who  Sell  Things, 
Business  Psychology, 
Retail  Selling, 


Ch. 

8.  The  Approach. 
7.  Appearance. 


4.  The  Interview. 

1 7.  Dress  and  Orderliness. 
8.  Attention. 

6.  Approaching  Custom¬ 
ers  and  Starting 
gales. 


13.  Attention. 


SUPPLEMENTARY  READING  LIST 


Nystrom,  Paul  H., 
Scott,  Walter  Dill, 
Young,  Melvin, 


Retail  Selling  and 
Store  Management, 
The  Theory  of  Adver¬ 
tising, 

The  Science  and  Art  of 
Writing  Life  Insur¬ 
ance, 


363 

6.  Attracting  Attention. 

2.  Attention. 

Lesson  V.  The  Art  of 
Approaching  Pros¬ 
pects. 


CHAPTER  IX — Methods  of  Arousing  Interest 


Atkinson,  William 
Walker, 

Hawkins,  Norval  A., 

Hoover,  Simon  R., 
Kitson,  Harry  Dexter, 

Scott,  Walter  Dill, 

Shaw,  A.  W.,  Com¬ 
pany, 

Strong,  Edward  K., 

Whitehead,  Harold, 
Young,  Melvin, 


The  Psychology  of 
Salesmanship, 

The  Selling  Process, 

Salesmanship, 

The  Mind  of  the 
Buyer, 

The  Theory  of  Adver¬ 
tising, 

The  Knack  of  Selling, 

The  Psychology  of  Sell¬ 
ing  Life  Insurance. 

Common  Sense  in  Busi¬ 
ness, 

The  Science  and  Art  of 
Writing  Life  Insur¬ 
ance, 


Ch. 

9.  The  Demonstration. 

8.  Gaining  Attention  and 
Awakening  Interest. 
7.  The  Demonstration. 

5.  How  to  Arouse  Inter¬ 

est  in  a  Commodity. 

10.  Apperception. 

Book  2.  Managing  the 
Interview. 

Lesson  26.  Diverting 
Prospect’s  Attention 
to  my  Proposition. 
20.  The  Salesman  and  the 
Order  Taker. 

6.  The  Art  of  Presenting  a 

Proposition. 


CHAPTER  X — Interesting  the  Retail  Customer 


Brisco,  Norris  A., 
Fisk,  James  W., 
Hotchkin,  William  R., 


Maxwell,  Wm., 
Moody,  Walter  D., 
Norton,  Helen  Rich, 


Retail  Salesmanship, 

Retail  Selling, 

Making  More  Money 
in  Store  Keeping, 

Salesmanship, 

Men  Who  Sell  Things, 
Retail  Selling, 


Ch. 

14.  The  Study  of  the  Cus¬ 
tomer. 

10.  Principles  of  Salesman¬ 
ship. 

73.  How  to  Talk  About 
Merchandise  to  the 
Customer. 

3.  “Anything Else  Today.” 

18.  Retail  Salesmen. 

9.  Suggestion  and  Substi¬ 
tution. 


APPENDIX 


Ny strom,  Paul  H., 


Whitehead,  Harold, 


Retail  Selling  and 
Store  Management, 

How  to  Run  a  Store, 


7.  Arousing  Interest,  De¬ 
sire  and  Determina¬ 
tion. 

11.  The  Lost  Art  of  Sales¬ 
manship. 


CHAPTER  XI — Methods  of  Creating  Desire 


Hawkins,  Norval  A., 

Kitson,  Harry  Dexter, 

Marden,  Orison  Swett, 

Raymond,  Charles 
Harvey, 

Strong,  Edward  K., 
Whitehead,  Harold, 


The  Selling  Process, 

The  Mind  of  the 
Buyers, 

Selling  Things, 

Modern  Business 
Writing, 

The  Psychology  of  Sell¬ 
ing  Life  Insurance, 

The  Business  of  Sell¬ 
ing, 


Ch. 

9.  Persuading  and  Cre¬ 
ating  Desire. 

8.  Desire. 

11.  How  Suggestion  Helps 

in  Selling. 

13.  Awakening  Desire, 
Winning  Belief. 
Lesson  30.  Arousing 
Desire. 

12.  Arousing  Desire. 


CHAPTER  XII— Straight  Thinking 


Ch. 


Angell,  James  R., 

Baker  and  Huntington, 

Foster,  W.  T., 

Gowin,  Enoch  Burton, 

Jevons,  William  Stan¬ 
ley, 

O’Neill,  Lay  cock,  and 
Scales, 

Pyle,  William  Henry, 
Robinson,  A.  T., 
Woodworth,  Robert  S., 


Psychology, 

The  Principles  of  Argu¬ 
mentation, 

Argumentation  and 
Debating, 

Developing  Executive 
Ability, 

Logic, 

Principles  of  Logic, 

Argumentation  and 
Debate, 

The  Outlines  of  Edu¬ 
cational  Psychology, 

The  Application  of 
Logic, 

Psychology, 


12.  Forms  and  Practices  of 

Reasoning. 

1,  2,  3. 

1,  2,  4-8,  11. 

13.  Tests  of  Reasoning. 

Elementary,  the  whole 
work;  advanced,  first 
half  most  important. 
1-8,  n-14. 

15.  Thinking. 

The  whole  text,  with¬ 
out  exception. 

18.  Reasoning. 


SUPPLEMENTARY  READING  LIST 


CHAPTER  XIII— Effective  Diction 


Brisco,  Norris  A., 
Clapp,  John  Mantle, 

Davis  and  Lingham, 
Greever  and  Jones, 


Hill,  A.  S., 

Kelly,  Fred  C. 

Mosher,  Joseph  A. 


Retail  Salesmanship, 
Language  for  Men  of 
Affairs  (Vol.  I), 
Business  English, 

The  Century  Hand¬ 
book, 

Principles  of  Rhetoric, 
Business  Profits  and 
Human  Nature, 
Pronunciation, 


Ch. 

8.  Speech  and  Voice. 

5.  Speaking  Distinctly. 

The  whole  work.  • 

The  whole  work,  it  is  a 
manual  for  correc¬ 
tion  of  errors. 

The  whole  work. 

22.  The  Voice  of  the  Aver¬ 
age  Man. 

6.  The  Effective  Speaking 

Voice. 


CHAPTER  XIV — Objections  and  How  to  Answer  Them 

Collateral  reading  for  this  chapter  is  included  in  the  list  at  the 
end  of  Chapter  XV. 


CHAPTER  XV — Excuses  and  How  to  Meet  Them 


Benedict-Roche, 

Adelaide, 

Brisco,  Norris  A., 


Ch. 

Salesmanship  for  10. 

Women, 

Retail  Salesmanship,  117. 


Butler  and  Burd, 
Davis  and  Lingham, 


Commercial  Corre-  9 

spondence, 

Business  English  and  12 
Correspondence, 

Gardner,  Edward  Hall,  Effective  Business  9 

Letters, 

The  Selling  Process, 


Hawkins,  Norval  A., 

Marden,  Orison  Sweet,  Selling  Things, 


Nystrom,  Paul  H., 


Automobile  Selling, 


O’Neill,  Lay  cock,  and  Argumentation  and 


10. 
18. 

11. 
15- 


Scales, 


Debate, 


Stevenson,  John  Alford,  Meeting  Objections 
Strong,  Edward  K.,  The  Psychology  of  Sel- 


Whitehead,  Harold, 
Young,  Melvin, 


ling  Life  Insurance, 

The  Business  of  Selling,  8. 
The  Science  and  Art  of 
Writing  Life  Insurance, 


How  to  Overcome  Ob¬ 
jections. 

Objections  and  Sug¬ 
gestions. 

Complaints — How  to 
Adjust  Them. 

Complaints  and  Ad¬ 
justments. 

Adjustment  Letters. 

Handling  Objections. 

Meeting  and  Fore-stal¬ 
ling  Objections. 

Objections  and  How  to 
Meet  Them. 

Refutation. 

All  of  the  book. 

Lesson  29.  Handling 
Objections. 

Objections. 

Lesson  9.  Argument. 


366 


APPENDIX 


CHAPTER 


Adams,  Henry  F., 

Atkinson,  William 
Walker, 

Hawkins,  Norval  A., 

Hollingworth,  Harry  L., 

Hoover,  Simon  R., 
Kitson,  Harry  Dexter, 

Leichter,  E., 

Norton,  Helen  Rich, 
Raymond,  Charles 
Harvey, 

Shaw,  A.  W.,  Company, 
Strong,  Edward  K., 


XVI — The  Diplomacy  of  the  Close 


Ch. 

14.  Action. 


Advertising  and  Its 
Mental  Laws, 

The  Psychology  of 
Salesmanship, 

The  Selling  Process, 

Advertising  and  Selling, 

Salesmanship, 

The  Mind  of  the  Buyer, 

Successful  Selling, 
Retail  Selling, 

Modern  Business 
Writing, 

The  Knack  of  Selling, 

The  Psychology  of  Sel¬ 
ling  Life  Insurance, 


10.  The  Closing. 

11.  Securing  Decision  and 

Obtaining  Signatures. 

12.  Provoking  the 

Response. 

8.  Closing  the  Sale., 

13.  The  Psychological  Mo¬ 

ment  for  the  Sale. 

5.  The  Closing. 

6.  Concluding  the  Sale. 
17.  Causing  the  Prospect 

to  Act  at  Once. 

Book  3.  How  and  When 
to  Close. 

Lesson  31.  Closing  the 
Sale. 


CHAPTER  XVII — Things  to  Remember  when  Closing 


Douglas,  Archer  Wall, 
Gardner,  Edward  Hall, 

Hawkins,  Norval  A., 

Marden,  Orison  Swett, 

Scott,  Walter  D., 

Young,  Melvin, 


Traveling  Salesmanship, 
New  Collection 
Methods, 

The  Selling  Process, 

Selling  Things, 

Influencing  Men  in 
Business, 

Science  and  Art  of 
Writing  Life  Insur¬ 
ance, 


Ch. 

4.  Work  on  the  Road. 

14.  Cooperation  with  the 
Sales  Department. 
12.  The  Get-away  and 
Future  Orders. 

17.  The  Man  at  the  Other 
End  of  the  Bargain. 

5,  6.  When  to  Use  Argu¬ 

ment  and  when  Sug¬ 
gestion  in  Influencing 
Men. 

Lesson  VII,  the  Art  of 
Delivering  Policies. 


CHAPTER  XVIII — Friendly  Relations  with  the  Buyer 

Ch. 

A-ughinbaugh,  W.  E.,  Selling  Latin  America,  22.  The  Salesman  and  the 

Customer. 


SUPPLEMENTARY  READING  LIST 


367 


Douglas,  Archer  Wall, 
Frederick,  J.  George, 

Kelly,  Fred  C., 

Kitson,  Harry  Dexter, 
Shaw,  A.  W.,  Company, 
Whitehead,  Harold, 


Traveling  Salesmanship,  14.  The  Human  Equation. 
Modern  Sales  Manage-  20.  The  Service  Principle  in 
ment,  Selling. 

Business  Profits  and  15.  Finding  the  Key  Note. 
Human  Nature, 

The  Mind  of  fhe  Buyer,  14.  Satisfaction — The  Goal. 
Personality  in  Business,  13.  The  Public  be  Pleased. 
Common  Sense  in  Busi-  23.  Selling  “Service.” 
ness, 

The  Business  Career  of  10  Selling  Insurance. 

Peter  Flint,  11.  Making  Progress. 


CHAPTER  XIX — The  Retail  Satisfaction  that  Creates  Good-Will 


Barrett,  Harold  J., 

Brisco,  Norris  A., 

Fisk,  James  W., 

Hoover,  Simon  R., 

Hungerford,  Edward, 

Norton,  Helen  Rich, 

Ny strom,  Paul  H., 

Shaw,  A.  W.,  Company, 

Swinney,  John  B., 


How  to  Sell  More 
Goods, 

Retail  Salesmanship, 
Retail  Selling, 

Salesmanship, 

The  Romance  of  a 
Great  Store, 

Retail  Selling, 

The  Economics  of  Re¬ 
tailing, 

Retail  Selling  and  Store 
Management, 
Personality  in  Business, 

Selling  Methods, 

Merchandising, 


Ch. 

6.  Just  Selling. 

11.  Service. 

8.  Knowing  the  Store  and 

the  Merchandise. 

12,  13.  Department  Store 

Instructions. 

4.  Displaying  and  Selling 
the  Goods. 

11.  Service. 

6.  Retail  Salespeople  and 
their  Work. 

9.  Special  Problems  in 

Retail  Salesmanship. 
9.  Personal  Service  that 
Pays. 

12.  Service  that  Brings 

Customers  Back. 

2.  Part  II,  Merchandising 
Policies. 


CHAPTER  XX — The  Salesman  and  the  Sales  Manager 


Aughinbaugh,  W.  E., 
Cherington,  Paul  T., 
Diemer,  Hugo, 


Ch. 

Selling  Latin  America,  21.  Methods  of  Doing 

Business. 

The  Elements  of  Mar-  1.  The  Elements  of  Mar¬ 
keting,  keting. 

Industrial  Organization  17.  Reports  to  Executives, 
and  Management, 


APPENDIX 


368 

Edie,  Lionel  D., 
Frederick,  J.  George, 

Galloway,  Lee, 

Hayward  and  White, 
Hoyt,  Charles  W., 

Jones,  John  G., 

Maxwell,  Wm., 

McClelland,  Frank  C., 

Perrin  and  Babb, 

Russell,  Frederic  A., 

Shaw,  A.  W., 

Swinney,  John  B., 


Principles  of  the  New 
Economics, 

Modern  Sales  Manage¬ 
ment, 

Office  Management, 


Chain  Stores, 

Scientific  Sales  Man¬ 
agement, 

Salesmanship  and  Sales 
Management, 

Salesmanship, 

Office  Training  and 
Standards, 

Commerical  Law  Cases 
(Vol.  I), 

Management  of  the 
Sales  Organization, 

An  Approach  to  Busi¬ 
ness  Problems, 

Merchandising. 


9.  Markets,  Their  Prin¬ 
ciples  and  Strategy. 

4.  Building  a  Good  Sales 

Organization. 

6.  The  Shaping  of  Sound 
Marketing  Policies. 
23.  The  Sphere  of  Sales 
Management. 

6.  Work  in  the  Sales  Pro¬ 

motion  Department. 

7.  Sales  Problems. 

3.  What  is  Scientific 

Sales  Management? 
1.  Part  II,  Sales  Manage¬ 
ment. 

8.  Management  of  Travel¬ 

ing  Men. 

8.  The  Sales  Department. 
3.  Sales. 

5.  Territory. 

12.  Agencies  of  Demand 
Creation — Direct 
Salesmen. 

5.  Selling  and  Sales  Super¬ 
vision. 


CHAPTER  XXI — The  Knowledge  that  Gives  Breadth 


Brisco,  Norris  A., 
Field,  Clifton  C., 

Gowin,  Enoch  Burton, 

Hoover,  Simon  R., 

Kelly,  Fred  C., 

Norton,  Helen  Rich, 


Retail  Salesmanship, 
Retail  Buying, 

Developing  Executive 
Ability, 

Salesmanship, 

Business  Profits  and 
Human  Nature, 

Retail  Selling, 


Ch. 

12.  Knowledge  of  the 
Goods.  Part  I,  The 
Merchant  as  a  Buyer. 

28.  Intellectual  Prepared¬ 
ness. 

4.  The  Salesman’s  Prepar¬ 
ation. 

10.  The  Costliness  of 
Vanity. 

7.  Selling  Points  and 
Their  Presentation. 


SUPPLEMENTARY  READING  LIST 


Ny strom,  Paul  A., 

Osborne,  Alex  F., 

Raymond,  Charles 
Harvey, 

Russell,  Frederic  A., 
Scott,  Walter  D., 
Vanderlip,  Frank  A., 


Automobile  Selling, 

A  Short  Course  in  Ad¬ 
vertising, 

Modern  Business 
Writing, 

Management  of  the 
Sales  Organization, 

Influencing  Men  in 
Business, 

Business  and  Educa¬ 
tion, 


369 

8.  What  the  Automobile 
Salesman  Should 
Know  About  His  Car. 
23.  The  Salesman  and  the 
Advertiser. 

2.  The  Product. 

3.  The  Salesman’s  Train¬ 

ing. 

,7.  Making  Arguments  Ef¬ 
fective. 

5.  The  Business  Man’s 
Reading. 


CHAPTER  XXII — Types  of  Customers 

The  collateral  reading  for  this  chapter  is  included  under  Chapter 
XXIII. 


CHAPTER  XXIII— Characteristic  Retail  Types 


Fisk,  James  W., 
Hawkins,  Norval  A., 
Hess,  Herbert  W., 


Ivey,  Paul  Wesley, 

Norton,  Helen  Rich, 
Whitehead,  Harold, 


Retail  Selling, 

The  Selling  Process, 
Productive  Advertising, 


Elements  of  Retail 
Salesmanship, 

Retail  Selling, 

The  Business  of  Selling, 
Common  Sense  in 
Business 


Ch. 

9.  Studying  the  Customer. 
7.  Sizing  up  the  Buyer. 
19.  Getting  the  Will  of  the 
Crowd. 

2.  The  Search  for  Phreno¬ 
logical  and  Physiog¬ 
nomic  Principles. 

5.  Knowing  the  Customer. 

12.  Customers. 

16.  The  Customer. 

22.  Character  Analysis. 


Hollingworth,  Harry  L.,  Vocational  Psychology, 


CHAPTER  XXIV— The  Make-Up  of  Personality 


Angell,  James  R.,  Psychology, 

Brisco,  Norris  A.,  Retail  Salesmanship, 


Gowin,  Enoch  Burton,  Developing  Executive 

Ability, 


Ch. 

22.  Character  and  the  Will. 
5.  Development  of  Per¬ 
sonality. 

9.  Development  of  Char 
acter  and  Intellect. 
U.  Initiative  and  Vision. 


3/0 


APPENDIX 


James,  William, 
Kirkpatrick,  E.  A., 
MacCunn,  John, 

McClelland,  Frank  C., 
Munsterberg,  Hugo, 
Seashore,  Carl  E., 
Watson,  John  B., 

Whitehead,  Harold, 

Woodworth,  Robert  S., 


The  Executive  and  His 
Control  of  Men, 

Psychology — Briefer 
Course, 

The  Individual  in  the 
Making, 

The  Making  of  Char¬ 
acter, 

Office  Training  and 
Standards, 

Business  Psychology, 

Psychology  in  Daily 
Life, 

Psychology  from  the 
Standpoint  of  the 
Behaviorist, 

The  Business  of  Selling, 


Psychology, 


10.  Personality. 

12.  The  Self. 

i.  The  Personality. 

Part  IV.  Self-Develop¬ 
ment  and  Self-Con¬ 
trol. 

15.  Personality  in  Business. 

12.  The  Acquirement  of 
Ability. 

4.  Mental  Health. 

1 1 .  Personality  and  its  Dis¬ 

turbance. 

18.  The  Salesman’s  Per¬ 

sonality. 

19.  How  to  Develop  Per¬ 

sonality. 

21.  Pages  552-555-  Per¬ 
sonality. 


CHAPTER  XXV — The  Leaven  of  Enthusiasm 


Collins,  James  H., 
Hanson,  Daniel  Louis, 
Ivey,  Paul  Wesley, 
Marden,  Orison  Swett, 


Human  Nature  in  Sel¬ 
ling  Goods, 

Moses  Irons, 

Elements  of  Retail 
Salesmanship, 

Selling  Things, 


Ch. 

2.  Banishing  Blue  Devils. 

2.  Live  Wires  and  Dead 
Ones. 

6.  Pages  117-121.  Ele¬ 
ments  of  Personality. 
12.  The  Force  of  Cheerful 
Expectancy. 


CHAPTER  XXVI— The  Habit  of  Industry 


Gowin,  Enoch  Burton, 
Hanson,  Daniel  Louis, 

James,  William, 


Developing  Executive 
Ability, 

Moses  Irons, 

Psychology — Briefer 
Course, 


Ch. 

16.  Physical  Energy. 

5.  A  Rival  Salesman  Gives 
the  Iron  Master  a 
Jolt. 

10.  Habit. 


SUPPLEMENTARY  READING  LIST 


371 


Purington,  Edward  Earl,  Efficient  Living,  5.  Work  and  Efficiency. 

Smiles,  Samuel,  Self-Help,  8.  Business  Qualities. 


CHAPTER  XXVII — The  Courtesy  that  Attracts  and  Pleases 


Brisco,  Norris  A., 
Ivey,  Paul  Wesley, 

Kelly,  Fred  C., 

Marden,  Orison  Swett, 


Retail  Salesmanship, 
Elements  of  Retail 
Salesmanship, 
Business  Profits  and 
Human  Nature, 

The  Progressive  Busi¬ 
ness  Man, 


Ch. 

26.  Courtesy. 

7.  Pages  140- 147.  Ele¬ 
ments  of  Personality. 
19.  Capitalizing  Courtesy. 

12.  Courtesy  Brings  Busi¬ 
ness. 


CHAPTER  XXVIII— The  Fire  of  Courage 


Gowin,  Enoch  Burton, 

Hubbard,  Elbert, 
Marden,  Orison  Sweet, 

Moody,  Walter  D., 


Developing  Executive 
Ability, 

A  Message  to  Garcia, 
Selling  Things, 

Men  Who  Sell  Things, 


Ch. 

17.  Power  of  the  Will. 

All  of  it. 

22.  When  You  Are  Dis¬ 
couraged. 

2.  Pure  Grit. 


CHAPTER  XXIX— The  Lubricant  of  Tact 


Babson,  Roger  W., 

Brisco,  Norris  A., 

Frederick,  J.  George, 
Gowin,  Enoch  Burton, 
Ivey,  Paul  Wesley 
Lorimer,  George  Horace 

Marden,  Orison  Swett, 

Smiles,  Samuel, 


Religion  of  Business, 

Fundamentals  of  Sales¬ 
manship, 

Retail  Salesmanship, 
The  Great  Game  of 
Business, 

The  Executive  and  His 
Control  of  Men, 
Elements  of  Retail 
Sales*  nanship, 

Letters  from  a  Self- 
Mad'"  Merchant  to 
His  Sbr>, 

Selling  Things, 

Self-Help, 


Ch. 

7.  The  Greatest  of  Unde¬ 

veloped  Resources — 
Faith. 

8.  Character. 

7.  Initiative  and  Tact. 

12.  The  New  Business 

Ethical  Code. 

18.  Idealism. 

6.  Pages  12 1- 1 33.  Ele¬ 

ments  of  Personality. 
Letters  12  and  13. 

9.  Tact — as  a  Friend 

Winner  and  Business 
Getter. 

13.  Character — The  True 

Gentleman. 


INDEX 


A 

Ability,  i 

Accentuation,  errors  due  to,  151 
Action,  30,  34 

Additional  purchases,  suggesting,  108 
Admiration,  appeal  to  desire  for,  26 
Advertising,  235 

Affection,  appeal  to  sense  of,  24 
Aggressiveness,  219,  308 
Agreement,  point  of,  187 
Ambiguity,  errors  from,  150 
Antagonistic  customer,  102,  329 
Apology,  salesman’s,  81 
Appeal,  13-29 

imagination  of  customer,  196 
individual,  55 
interest,  87-105 

picture  customer  using  goods,  196 
Approach, 
flank,  102 

house-to-house  salesman,  78 
logical  development  necessary,  105 
manner  of,  76-86 
methods  of,  55-62 
negative,  104 
positive,  106 
preapproach,  56-62 
retail  salesman,  83 
specialty  salesman,  77 
wholesale  salesman,  76 
Argument  (See  also  “Selling  Talk”) 
adapted  to  buyer’s  temperament, 
257-262 
final,  199 
learning,  52 
memorizing,  53 
skill  in,  2 


Attention,  30,  31,  79,  87,  99 
Audacity,  72 

B 

Buyer, 

antagonistic,  102,  329 
approach  to,  55,  257 
attention  of,  79 
average,  12 
bad-tempered,  81 
cold,  critical  type,  263 
convincing,  5 
disagreeable,  321 
disgruntled,  178 
easy-going,  263 
excuses  of,  180-189 
indecision  of,  169 
individual  problem  of  each,  12 
information  about,  55,  120 
name  of,  value  of  when  known, 
59,  67 

objections  of,  167-179 
overloading,  240 
pessimistic,  177 
retail,  43 
friend  of,  116 
interesting,  106-117 
“looking  around,”  ill 
types  of,  268-275 
self-important  type,  265 
shopper,  268-275 
specialty,  40-43 
study  of,  257 
temperament  of,  257-262 
types  of,  36,  257-267 
wholesale,  36-40 


373 


INDEX 


374 

Buying  motives,  psychology  of, 
13-35 

C 

Calls,  salesman’s,  237 
Card,  use  of,  82 
Catalogs,  236 
Cause,  false,  153 

Causational  method  of  reasoning, 

143-148 

Caution,  appeal  to,  21 
Children,  as  customers,  275 
Clerical  work,  accurate,  224 
Closing  the  order,  190-208 
assuming  the  order,  193 
cancellation  of  order,  206 
final  arguments,  199 
negative  vs.  positive  attitude,  194 
psychological  moment,  191 
quantity  ordered,  201 
signing  the  contract,  203 
Collections,  242 

Comfort,  appeal  to  desire  for,  26 
Comparisons,  125 
Competitors, 
mentioning,  125 

salesman’s  knowledge  about,  250 
Complaints,  222 

Concentration,  salesman’s,  2,  225 
securing  customer’s,  87 
Concessions,  special,  240 
Conciseness  in  speech,  157 
Confidence,  developing,  133,  316 
Consideration  for  others,  307 
Contract, 

canceling,  206 
signing,  203 
Contradiction,  168,  187 
Conviction,  element  of,  5 
Courage,  297,  312-324 
Courtesy,  salesman’s,  226,  298-311 
Credits,  242 

Curiosity,  appeal  to,  101 
Customer  (See  “Buyer”) 


D 

Daring,  312 

Deductive  method  of  reasoning,  142 
Demand,  creation  of,  6 

supplying,  selling  argument,  47 
Demonstration,  88-93 
retail  store,  89 
Desire, 

creating,  30,  33,  118-138 
requisites  for,  119 
nature  of,  118 
Discipline, 
lack  of,  291 
value  of,  3 
Discount,  205,  240 

E 

Emphasis,  errors  due  to,  151 
Enthusiasm,  88,  93,  224,  282-289 
Enunciation,  161 
Errors,  due  to  reasoning,  149 
Ethics,  330 

Excel,  buyer’s  desire  to,  19 
Excuses, 

answering,  171,  180-189 
kinds  of,  180-189 

Expression  of  thought,  fallacies  in, 
ISO 

F 

Fallacies, 
psychological,  154 
reasoning,  149-154 
Fear,  316 

Figures  of  speech,  158 
First  impression, 
of  goods,  98 

of  salesman,  on  buyer,  75,  210 
Friendliness, 

methods  of  cultivating,  209-217 
retail  field,  use  of,  216 
salesman’s,  18,  209-217 


INDEX 


375 


G 

Gain,  buyer’s  desire  for,  19 
Good-will, 

adjustment  of  complaints  creates, 
222 

cultivating,  218-229 
giving  service  to  cultivate,  220 
importance  of,  218 
retail  field,  218-229 
Goods  for  sale, 

first  impression  of,  98 
handling  of,  by  customer,  128 
handling  of,  by  salesman,  99 
knowledge  of,  2,  120,  247 
manufacturing  details  as  a  sales 
argument,  49 

reputation  of  as  a  sales  argument, 
49 

satisfaction  giving,  221 

H 

Handshake,  83 
Hesitation, 

customer’s,  169,  180-189,  190-199, 
203 

salesman’s,  316 
History, 
of  firm,  246 
salesmanship  in,  4 

House-to-house  salesman,  manner  of 
approach,  78 

Human  nature  (See  “Psychology”) 

I 

Imagination, 
customer’s,  196 
salesman’s,  2 
Imitation,  appeal  to,  23 
Indecision,  overcoming,  169,  180-189, 
1 90- 1 99,  203 

Inductive  method  of  reasoning,  141 
Industry,  habit  of,  3,  290-297 


Information, 

necessary  to  salesman,  245 
sources  of,  252 
use  of,  254 
Initiative,  322 
Instincts,  appeal  to,  27 
Interest,  30,  33 
antagonistic  buyer’s,  102 
arousing,  87-105 

careful  handling  of  goods  arouses, 
99 

concentrative  principle,  87 
connecting  sales  talk  with  pros¬ 
pect’s  interest,  99 
curiosity  arouses,  101 
defined,  87 

first  impression  arouses,  98 
normality  and,  94 
personal,  arousing,  97 
psychology  of,  94 
retail  customer’s,  arousing,  106- 

11 7 

Interview, 

apology  for  taking  time  uncalled 
for,  81 

approach,  manner  of,  76-86 
attention  of  customer,  79 
bad-tempered  customer,  81 
card,  use  of,  82 
definite  person  asked  for,  67 
expectant  attitude  in,  68 
first  impression  on  buyer,  75 
following  up  the  first,  136 
forcing  not  advisable,  65 
handshake,  83 
interrupted,  80 
managing,  200 
methods  in  securing,  63-74 
opening,  75-86 

questions  beside  the  point,  201 
samples,  use  of  in,  68 
winning,  63-74 

wholesale  salesman’s  manner  of 
approach,  76 

Inventories  (See  “Stock-in-Trade”) 


376 


INDEX 


K 

Knocking  competitors,  125 
Knowledge,  appeal  to  desire  for,  22 

L 

Labor,  effect  of  sales  on,  232 
Language,  correct,  150,  157-166,  304 
Listening,  politeness  in,  300 
Literature,  salesmanship  in,  5 
Loyalty,  285 

Logic  (See  “Reasoning”) 

M 

Mail,  attention  secured  by,  32 
Management, 
place  of,  230 

salesman’s  attitude  towards,  231 
Mannerisms,  303,  306 
Manners,  298-311 

Manufacturing  process,  salesman’s 
familiarity  with,  247 
Memorizing  sales  argument,  53 
Motives  (See  “Buying  Motives”) 

N 

Name,  of  customer,  value  of,  59,  67 
Negative  attitude,  104,  194 
Nerve,  72,  312 

O 

Objections,  167-179 
answering,  171 
contradicting,  168 
disgruntled  customer,  178 
errors  of  judgment,  177 
excuses,  180-189 
kinds  of,  169 
no  room  for  new  line,  175 
pessimistic  mood,  176 
preparations  for  meeting,  167 
price  of  goods,  172 
quality  of  goods,  171 


Obj  ections — C  ontinued 

satisfied  with  present  connections, 
174 

stocked  to  the  limit,  173 
taste,  177 

Observation,  fallacies  in,  149 
Order  (See  “Sale”) 

P 

Packages,  large  vs.  small,  115 
Patience,  228 

Payment,  terms  of,  182,  205 
Persistence,  65,  293,  313 
Personal  appearance,  300 
Personality,  salesman’s,  277-281 
Pessimistic  customer,  176 
Physical  exercise,  296 
Play,  appeal  to  instinct  of,  27 
Politeness,  298-311 
Positive  attitude,  106,  195 
Possession,  appeal  to  desire  for,  26 
Preapproach,  56-62 
Precision  in  speech,  158 
Prejudice,  breaking  down,  327 
Presumption,  false,  152 
Price, 
giving,  11 3 
objections  to,  172 
selling  argument,  47 
Profit,  appeal  to,  46 
Pronunciation,  161 
Prospect  (See  “Buyer”) 
Psychological  moment,  191 
Psychology  (See  also  “Reasoning”) 
buyer’s,  13-35 

understanding  of,  a  necessity,  11 

Q 

Quality,  113 
objections  to,  171 
Quantity, 

ordered  at  sale,  201 
overloading,  240 


INDEX 


377 


Questions, 
asking,  112,  132 
beside  the  point,  201 

R 

Reasoning, 

causational  method,  143-148 
errors  in,  148-154 
false  cause,  153 
false  presumption,  152 
importance  of  clear,  139 
method  of,  140 
Repeat  orders,  319 
Reputation  as  a  selling  argument,  49 
Resemblance,  reasoning  from,  145 
Retail, 
buyer,  43 

interesting,  106-117 
looking  around,  in 
types  of,  268-275 
sales, 

additional  purchases,  108 
argument,  52 

arousing  interest  in,  106-117 
price  objections,  173 
prices,  112 
psychology  of,  31 
substituting  goods  not  in  stock, 
108 

too  many  questions,  112 
salesman, 

approach  to  customer,  83 
attitude  of,  117,  219 
friendliness  of,  216 
knowledge  of,  251 
sympathy  of,  276 
store,  demonstration  in,  88 
Routine,  daily,  295 
Rush  orders,  233 

S 

Sale, 

closing,  190-199 
quantity  ordered,  201 


Sale — Continued 

signing  the  contract,  203 
small  and  big,  319 
special  orders,  233 
Sales  campaign,  236 
Sales  manager,  functions,  230 
relation  to  salesman,  230-244 
Sales  manuals,  51,  234 
Salesman, 

as  an  adviser,  121,  227 
assistance  given  by  management, 
234 

attitude  towards  management,  231 
calls,  237 

cultivator  of  good-will,  218-229 
first  impression  on  buyer,  75 
function  of,  7 

information  required  by,  245-256 
personality,  277-281 
qualifications,  2 
quota,  232 

relation  to  sales  manager,  230-224 
self-reliance  of,  239 
study  of  buyer,  257 
training  of,  245-256 
Salesmanship, 
scientific  study  of,  7 
why  necessary,  6 
Samples, 

demonstration  with,  88 
use  of,  in  interview,  68 
Self-confidence,  316 
Selling  talk, 
analysis  of,  44,  164 
argument,  learning,  52 
closing  the  order,  190-208 
comparisons,  125 
demand,  supplying,  47 
example  of,  45 
manufacturing  details,  49 
merit  of  goods  over  competitors, 
128 

planning,  164 
preapproach,  56-62 


378 


INDEX 


Selling  talk — Continued 
price,  arguments,  47 

primary  object  to  sell,  138 
profit,  appeal  to,  46 
questions,  132 

reputation  of  goods  as  factor,  49 
retail  vs.  wholesale,  52 
service  to  buyer,  48 
silence,  time  for,  131 
speech,  157-166 

suggestions  not  applicable,  123 
talking  points,  44 
terms  of  sale,  48 
testimonials,  134 
Service,  giving, 
cultivating  good-will,  220 
selling  argument,  48 
Shopper, 
children,  275 
foreign,  275 
ignorant,  274 
impatient,  274 
irresolute,  garrulous,  270 
nervous,  irritable,  268 
occasional,  272 
telephone,  273 
Silence,  time  for,  13 1 
Sizes,  1 15 
Special  orders,  233 
Specialty  buyer,  40-43 
Specialty  salesman,  manner  of  ap¬ 
proach,  77 
Speech,  157-166,  304 


Stock-in-trade, 

full  limit  of  objection  to  buying, 
173 

knowledge  of  customer’s,  60 
overloading,  240 
Substitutions,  108 
Success,  1 

Suggestion  vs.  argument,  124 
Superiority,  claim  for,  108 
Sympathy,  276 

T 

Tact,  2,  325-331 
Talking  point,  44 
Taste,  objection  on  score  of,  177 
Temperament,  effect  of  enthusiasm 
upon,  290 

Terms  of  sale,  making,  48 
Territory,  study  of,  238 
Testimonials,  134 
Thought,  fallacies  of,  151 
Training,  salesman’s,  2,  245-256 
Truthfulness,  as  a  cultivator  of 
good-will,  222,  319 

V 

Voice,  160,  306 

W 

Wholesale, 
buyer,  36-40 

salesman,  manner  of  approach,  76 


- 


' 


F 


I 


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Hr  s 
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